Bumblejinks Adventure: Fluttershy
by Bulldozer Studios
Summary: Ever wonder what would happen if a Pony got sent to the Tooniverse, where logic no longer applies and all things wacky are possible? Follow Dusty Bumblejinks, Snappy Bumblejinks and Fluttershy as they smash cogs, outwit a dangerous villain, and help Fluttershy get home to Equestria. Extended summary contained inside. Rated K-Plus for scenes of intense action and peril.
1. Extended Summary

A one-of-a-kind adventure in the world of Toontown!

 _Starring: Dusty Bumblejinks, Snappy Bumblejinks, Mystery, Lady Mildew Grumblecrash, Princess Melody Dandyberry, Fluttershy._

 _Guest Starring: Daffy Bumblejinks, Rosie Bumblejinks, Penelope Hucklebee, Penny Hucklebee, Number Four._

Extended Summary: Ever wondered what would happen if a Pony got sent to the Tooniverse, where logic and physics mean nothing and all things silly, wacky and cartoony are possible? Strap yourselves in for an incredible adventure in the world of Toontown!

In this gigantic tale of heroism, fish have clown noses, flowers glow bright white and Young Fluttershy, who just entered into adulthood, couldn't have had a more perfect life with all her friends in Ponyville... until Snappy Bumblejinks, younger brother and sidekick of Toontown's resident superhero Dusty Bumblejinks, accidently activates Mysteries new wormhole machine and rips open a portal in time and space, making a town fool out of himself, and hurtling Fluttershy out of Ponyville and into the Tooniverse, where she is transformed into a young cat Toon. Alone, defenseless, and without her friends or her ability to fly, she's trapped between a cog and a hard place. And to top it off, Mystery firmly believes that she's his ticket to world domination, and will stop at nothing to capture her... alive or dead.

Then she meets the Bumblejinks Bros., Toontown's resident superheroes, which begins an enormous chain of events as Dusty Bumblejinks and his little brother Snappy try to find a way to get Fluttershy home and amend Snappy's reputation as the worthy sidekick of his older brother. Pies and cakes destroy robots, bears shoot bundles of explosives, and Fluttershy learns to believe in herself like she never has before, as she and the Bumblejinks Bros. battle their way through Toontown in order to find the seven Power Medals, legendary artifacts with the power to send her home.

But Mystery and the cogs are closing in, and time is running out! It's going to take all of Dusty and Snappy's skills if the little Pony is going to get home, and if Snappy is ever going to walk the streets again without getting chased by angry mobs! The wise and powerful Melody Dandyberry, the sweet and thoughtful Rosie Bumblejinks, as well as the wacky and clueless Daffy Bumblejinks, and the Hucklebee twins Penny and Penelope, join in on the fun in this hilarious adventure through Toontown.

From giant robots to trees that grow train tracks, this heartwarming tale is filled to the brim with all the "Laffs" you would expect from Toontown, along with a hilarious all-star cast of wacky, wicked and downright INSANE characters. This unique spin on the old, classic tale of "Chicken Little" is one Bumblejinks adventure that's bound to blow your Laff meter to pieces in ways Pinkie Pie wished she could!

* * *

This is an 8 chapter long preview of the full tale. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the full project, coming out this Fall!


	2. 1 The Wormhole Machine

_"Ah, now, where to begin? Tsk tsk tsk... how about 'Once upon a time, in a land far, far away...' nah, how many times have you heard that to begin a story? Ah, I got it. Here's what we're going to do. Why don't I just go back to the day everything took a turn for the worst?"_

* * *

It was a regular day in the bright, silly, cheerful town of Toontown. Blue, cloudless skies as far as the eye could see, colorful Toons running through the playgrounds happily, the sound of robotic cogs blowing up in the streets. What more could a young, up-and-coming Toon ask for?

But elsewhere in Toontown, things weren't quite so cheerful. The evil Mystery, a brown cat who had a thing for allying with the Cogs to take over the world, and building giant murder machines, was busy hatching his latest plot to overthrow Toontown. He had the perfect plan: Build a wormhole machine and use it to bring a horrible monster into Toontown, let the creature have its way with the population, then destroy it and take what was left. How could this plan possibly go wrong?

Mystery, and his assistant Lady Mildew Grumblecrash, a short female bear Toon who had a fetish for blowing stuff up and killing role-players, most especially warrior cats, would soon find out the answer to that question. The two were currently in Bossbot Headquarters putting the finishing touches on Mystery's new wormhole machine, which had yet to be given an actual codename, and was due for its first test run that same day. Mystery had high hopes for this new device.

Wiping the sweat off his brow, Mystery looked over with his cyborganic right eye at Mildew, who was gazing from a clipboard she held in her hand to the machine and muttering to herself under her breath. He clapped his hands twice to get her attention.

"So... is everything ready?" He asked Mildew, in a very -ish voice, to which Mildew just smiled.

"Yep. Everything's ready. We just need that Power Medal." She said, pointing over to the empty insert in the nearby control unit. The insert was about the size of a fist.

Mystery frowned.

"Hmm. Where's Two with that Power Medal? Certainly it doesn't take THAT long to input a two hundred digit passcode." He asked, more to himself then to Mildew, as he put a hand to his chin.

Mildew just shrugged and returned to her clipboard. She had to make sure everything was in check before the medal got here.

Mystery had half a mind to call up Two on his radio and ask what was taking so long, but a nearby scream, which shook a small amount of dust from the ceiling, interrupted his thoughts.

"LET US GO!" A female mouse Toon screamed from a nearby prison cell. She, along with several other Toons, were captured while attempting to enter the Executive Office Tower, and placed in this small prison cell inside Mystery's lab, to be used as test subjects for one of his other inventions.

"Orders, sir?" Big Cheese 519-1 asked who was standing next to the prison cell.

"Silence them." Mystery said flatly, walking over to the control unit. He was getting sick and tired of all these interruptions he was having today.

519-1 Turned and drove his fist into the steel bars. Hard. To the Toons inside, it sounded like a point-blank explosion. They all recoiled to the other side of the cell at once, their eyes wide with terror.

"SHUT UP IN THERE!" He shouted, before turning around and looking back over at Mystery, who was currently shaking his head, probably in disapproval over how long it was taking Two to arrive with that blasted Power Medal.

Finally, a ringing noise from a nearby radio broke the silence in the room. Mystery quickly grabbed it and turned it on.

"Sir, it's Four." Downsizer 819-4 spoke over the radio, a minor hint of panic in his voice. "I have some good news and some terrible news. Which would you like to hear first?"

"The good news." Mystery said, wondering what was going on.

"Two's on his way with the Power Medal. He'll be there in a few minutes." Four replied. Mystery grinned in a very wicked way, making the Toons in the prison cell recoil in fear once again.

"Ah, excellent." He said in a very pleased tone. He then dropped his tone and spoke again. "So what's the terrible news?"

"The Bumblejinks Bros. just blew through the front gate of the headquarters! They're on their wa-Oh no, please, no, stay back! GET AWAY! AHHH!" All Mystery could hear after that was the sound of cream pies hitting Four in the face, followed up by a loud explosion. A moment later, another voice came through on the radio. One Mystery hated with a burning passion.

"You're cog buddies a little dead right now. He'll have to call you back!" The voice of Dusty Bumblejinks, Toontown's resident superhero, came through on the radio, shortly before the line went dead. From the sound of it, Dusty had thrown the radio on the ground and stomped it to pieces.

Mildew gave him a confused look. She hadn't heard what had happened to Four.

"Sir? Is everything alright?" She asked.

Mystery growled in frustration, before hitting another button on the radio.

"ATTENTION ALL UNITS! ATTENTION ALL UNITS!" Mystery's voice blared through the entire headquarters. "Bumblejinks has been spotted approaching the headquarters! All units stand by for an assault! Put the headquarters under full lockdown until further notice! This is NOT a drill! Repeat: This is NOT a drill!" He screamed into the radio, getting both Mildew's and One's attention, before slamming the radio down onto the control unit.

He turned to look at Mildew, who had a mild shocked expression on her face.

"Why does that blasted Bumblejinks always get in my way!?" He said in a fury, slamming his fist into the control unit. It seemed someone was always keen to spoil his plans for world domination.

"He's just trying to stop you from doing all the terrible things you're trying to do." The young mouse Toon said from the prison cell.

Mystery looked over and glared at her with his cyborg eye, which was currently glowing crimson red. The Toon backed away from the bars instantly.

"Indeed?" He asked, almost mockingly. "Well, he's too late to stop me this time. Once I insert that Power Medal, my wormhole machine will be ready to go. Then all of Toontown will be at the mercy of whatever terrible monster I decide to set upon it." He said, laughing in a devious way that made the hair on all the Toons in the prison cell stand on end. They really didn't want to be here, trapped in this cell with this maniac.

"Someone... please... help us!" Another one silently pleaded, hoping beyond hope that this wouldn't be the day they died.

The door on the other side of the room then opened, and Mystery looked over to see Head Hunter 219-2 running over to him, the Power Medal clutched in his hands.

"Sorry for the delay, sir, but the arrival of those Bumblejinks Bros. forced me to take a detour." He said to Mystery, handing over the medal. It was mostly aqua blue and transparent, except for a solid light blue snowflake design in the middle. It was glowing a bright blue, giving off a powerful energy that nobody fully understood. It was attached to a golden string.

Mystery looked down at the medal, grinning. This one medal alone could run a thousand Cog headquarters for the rest of time. It was more then he needed, but it would do the job well.

"Perfect. We're all set." He said to himself. He then turned to the control unit and inserted the Medal.

He was just finishing configuring the machine that had just come online, when the door to the lab suddenly exploded. A pair of level twelve Bossbots flew into the room and exploded, and once the smoke had settled, Mystery was able to see who it was who had made such an explosive entrance.

Dusty Bumblejinks, a tall crimson dog Toon, was standing in the doorway, smiling in triumph. He was clad in his usual Cog-Crusher suit, black combat boots, black fingerless combat gloves, and his favorite black pilot's hat, which had a large, golden letter "D" engraved upon it. His younger brother, the ToonFest Blue Snappy Bumblejinks, who stood slightly shorter then Dusty, was standing next to him, wearing much the same attire as Dusty, except he was wearing the yellow Cog-Buster outfit, and his hat had an "S" on it, instead of a "D". Dusty had his trademark police baton in his hand.

The Toons in the prison cell all looked over and cheered when they saw Dusty enter the room. One and Four had both taken cover when he came in, afraid they would be his next targets. However, his sight was currently set on Mystery.

"Hate to crash the party, Mystery, but you've got something that belongs to Melody. And we're here to get it back." Dusty said to the brown cat, eyeing the Power Medal in the control unit for the nearby machine. Snappy had a hand on the straps for his jetpack.

At first Mystery just stood there, stunned. Then, with an evil sneer, he reached over and grabbed the switch to activate the machine. Dusty and Snappy both tensed up.

"Too late, Bumblejinks!" He shouted. He then laughed out loud, in another wicked way, before addressing the pair. "You'll never stop me now, Dusty! All I have to do is throw this little switch. I suggest you both give up now." He said, smiling at the dogs in the doorway.

Dusty just smirked. Didn't Mystery know who he was messing with?

"Yeah... let's see if you're hands are faster than my feet." He challenged, which made Mystery nervous. Dusty WAS pretty quick on his feet. Fast enough to grab and break the switch before Mystery could activate it.

Mildew, who had been looking at the Bumblejinks Bros. in stunned silence just a second ago, was now holding her favorite TNT launcher in her hand. She grinned at the dogs.

"Why don't you try it, fool?" She asked, before firing a bundle of TNT at the pair.

Dusty saw her out of the corner of his eye and gasped.

"Snappy, SCRAMBLE!" He shouted, before jumping aside. Snappy engaged his jetpack and flew away in the other direction, just as the TNT bundle flew through the doorway and exploded, damaging the headquarters even more.

Mildew wasted no time in taking aim at Dusty himself, firing TNT bundle after TNT bundle at him. She was being careful not to damage any of Mystery's machines, while keeping Dusty on the move. And she was doing a pretty good job. Dusty was finding it difficult to get any closer to her.

"Get him!" Mystery shouted, before turning back to the wormhole machine.

And receiving a giant hammer in the face from Snappy, who had flown over and around the carnage all around them. Mystery fell to the ground, stars twinkling in his eyes.

Snappy landed on top of the control unit and laughed at him.

"Now that's just pathetic. Never discount the sidekick, Mystery!" He said tauntingly to the brown cat, making a "Tsk, tsk" motion with his finger. He then reached down to pick up the Power Medal.

But was stopped when the lights suddenly went out. He just gazed around in confusion, wondering what was going on.

Dusty and Mildew had stopped their battle as well, due to them not being able to see anything.

"Hey! Who turned out the lights!?" Dusty shouted, unable to see his own hand in front of his face.

"Don't look at me, I didn't do it!" Mildew shouted into the darkness, turning on the spot to face the machine... or at least, she thought she was.

A moment later, a low purple glow began to fill the room, and along with it, a very loud, and very annoying humming noise. It hurt Mildew's ears to listen to it.

"What the-!?" Snappy exclaimed, turning around to spot the source of the glow. His heart just about skipped a beat when he saw what was happening.

The wormhole machine had been activated. It was currently working on finding someone, most likely some terrible creature, to bring into this world to destroy Toontown. On top of the loud, annoying humming noise and the purple glow, it was giving off a very bright magenta light. VERY bright. It hurt Dusty's eyes to look at it.

Snappy gasped and looked down. He had accidently landed on top of the activation switch, and had started the machine.

"Uh oh..." He looked over at Dusty in a panic, whom had started moving around again in order to dodge TNT bundles fired at him by Mildew.

"DUSTY! WHAT'LL WE DO NOW!?" He shouted, hoping Dusty would have the answer, as he usually did.

Dusty looked over at him, dodging another bundle of TNT from Mildew, which flew through the doorway and into a group of fifthteen security Cogs, killing them all.

"Grab the Power Medal!" He shouted, trying to get closer to Mildew on order to subdue her. She was doing a good job of keeping him at a distance.

Snappy reached down to take the Power Medal. However, he failed to notice that electric bolts were currently shooting out of the medal, and when he went to grab it, it gave him a powerful electric shock.

"OUCH!" Snappy screamed, pulling away from the medal and falling off of the control unit. He stood back up and looked over at the wormhole machine, which looked like it had found what it was looking for.

"It's no good! If I try to grab it, I'm going to get fried to a crisp!" Snappy cried out, trying to figure out what else they could do. It wouldn't be long before that awful machine brought some terrible monster from another world into their beloved town, and all of Toonkind would be wiped out as they knew it.

* * *

 **-** ** _Meanwhile_** **-**

"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FLUTTERSHY!"

Fluttershy recoiled in surprise upon entering her house, which was pitch-black inside, and having the lights come on so suddenly, followed by her friend's birthday wishes. She quickly got over her surprise, though, and smiled at her friends.

"A... a surprise party? For me?" She asked, as Twilight Sparkle came over and smiled at her.

"Of course! It's not every day you turn eighteen, after all!" She giggled, making Fluttershy giggle as well. Pinkie Pie bounced over and smiled happily at her giggling friend.

"Wait till' you see the cake I made for you. It looks amazing!" She happily exclaimed, causing Rarity to roll her eyes. She was still slightly sore over the fact Pinkie Pie decided to lob some icing onto her new dress as a joke while making the cake, which obviously upset her. But at the same time, she couldn't deny the cheerful atmosphere that usually hung over someponies birthday party.

"What about the presents? We all pitched in to help put one of them together, after all." Spike inquired who was on Twilight Sparkles back. She just giggled at him. He always seemed to have his mind on presents these days for some reason.

"Come on, y'all. Today is Fluttershy's special day! Let her celebrate how she wants too!" Applejack said, walking over with a present for Fluttershy on her back. "After she opens this, of course."

Fluttershy gasped at the present she was carrying, feeling her eyes widen somewhat.

"Presents? But, you really didn't have to..." She said in a slightly shocked tone, but Applejack wasn't having any of it. She put a hoof over Fluttershy's mouth to silence her.

"Aw, come on, sugercube. It's your special day! Of course there's gonna be presents!" She told the pink haired Pony, lowering her hoof to the ground and setting down the present in front of her.

"We wanted you to open that one first, since it's from all of us." Rainbow Dash told Fluttershy, flying over and landing next to her.

She looked over at Rainbow Dash with a confused look on her face, and then looked at everyone else. They all nodded in approval.

"Go on. I just know you're going to love it." Rarity said, with a cute smile on her face.

Fluttershy approached the present and slowly pulled on the ribbon, causing the top to slide off and onto the floor. She peeked inside and gasped.

What appeared to be a golden scarf fitted with tiny butterflies was inside. The butterflies were made from tiny gems of various colors, and the scarf appeared to be sparkling. It looked absolutely beautiful.

"Oh my Celestia... how... where did..." Fluttershy stammered in shock. The other Ponies in the room just giggled, gathering around Fluttershy.

"We all worked together to make that scarf. It's a special gift from all of us, as a sort of "Thank-You" for being our friend." Twilight Sparkle explained, watching her friends shocked reaction to their gift.

"You're the best friend a Pony could ask for, Fluttershy." Rarity pitched in.

"Everypony..." Fluttershy was at a loss for words. Small tears of joy in her eyes, she just smiled at everyone and gave them the most appreciative expression she could muster. "...T-Thank you..."

The others all smiled at her and shortly after, a group huddle was in order. After the six had broken up, and Rainbow Dash had helped her put the golden scarf on, they all laughed happily, and the REAL party began.

Naturally, Pinkie Pie had arranged only the best party she possibly could, seeing as it was a very special occasion. The cake, which had a picture of Fluttershy on it, surrounded by a heart, was top notch, and when it came time to open the other gifts, Fluttershy was happy to see what they were. One was a brand new, custom made quilt for her bed from Twilight Sparkle, which was good, since her old one was just about worn out, a beautiful leafy dress from Rarity, also good, considering she had outgrown her last one, a small hairpin with an apple on it from Applejack, and a small whistle from Pinkie Pie that, according to her, was supposed to make any animal pay attention to her. But she could tell from the furious look on Angel Bunny's face that it was clearly distressing to animals, making her quirk an eyebrow at it. The last gift was a cute rainbow bracelet from Rainbow Dash.

 _"I have such wonderful friend's."_ Fluttershy thought to herself, looking at her reflection in the mirror. The scarf was beautiful on her. _"How could things be any better?"_

The party was going on smoothly, and everyone was having an excellent time, when all of a sudden, the lights went out, casting them all into a pitch-black darkness once again. They all gasped in shock.

"Woah! What the-!?" Spike exclaimed, trying, but failing, to make out anything in the pitch-black darkness. He couldn't even see Twilight Sparkle, despite having climbed back onto her back.

"HEY! Who turned out the lights!?" Pinkie Pie shouted, bumping into the wall in the dark. She stepped on something soft and heard Rainbow Dash scream in pain.

"OUCH! That's my tail you're stepping on!" She screamed, causing Pinkie Pie to recoil and fall to the ground with an "Oof!"

"Calm down, everypony! I'll get the lights!" Twilight Sparkle called out, before attempting to turn the lights back on with her magic. However, nothing happened. They were still in pitch darkness.

"Twilight, you're magic isn't working!" Spike exclaimed, clearly distressed over the situation.

Twilight gave a concerned look. It wasn't usual that her magic failed to accomplish a task as simple as turning the lights on.

"Tell us something we DON'T know, Spike!" Rainbow Dash grumbled angrily, for she had just tripped over Rarity, causing them both to tumble into the ground.

"Wait, I have a candle over here." Fluttershy called out. Twilight directed her glowing horn in her direction, which allowed Fluttershy to find and light the candle. The other ponies all hurried over to the light source, some looking confused, others looking downright terrified.

"W-W-What's going on!?" Pinkie Pie asked, clearly scared. She wished the lights would come back on. She didn't like this darkness one bit.

"You got me, Pinkie." Applejack responded, her eyes darting around every square inch of the house. She wished the lights would come back on, too.

 _"_ _It's darker in here then a run-down barn in a dark cave at midnight."_ Applejack had thought to herself.

Twilight Sparkle looked outside through a nearby window. _"It sure is dark outside... too dark for just six-thirty."_ She thought to herself. _"Is Nightmare Moon up to no good again?"_

Fluttershy could see that Angel Bunny was hiding under the bed, though whether it was out of fright, or out of disapproval of the lights going out suddenly, she couldn't tell.

"Stay together, girls. This could be dangerous." Twilight Sparkle said, her horn still glowing brightly. She was ready to work her magic if need be.

It was at that very moment that a purple lightning bolt shot out from out of nowhere in the middle of the room, flew out the window, and struck an outside tree.

Fluttershy screamed when she saw another lightning bolt shoot past her and her friends, missing them by mere inches and hitting the wall behind them. They all dove for cover behind the dining table.

"WHAT IS THIS!?" Rarity screamed, as another lightning bolt flew past her face, striking the window behind her. Somehow it was still intact.

A few lightning bolts later, and what could only be described as a large purple-colored portal appeared on the middle of the room in a bright flash, bringing with it a very loud and scary humming noise. The portal cast a bright purple glow all over the room, and the portal itself shined a bright magenta as it pulsated like a hundred slithering snakes. The ponies all gasped when it appeared, but Twilight Sparkle stood her ground, horn still aglow.

"Twilight... what is this...?" Spike asked her slowly, dreading the answer.

Twilight rapidly searched her mind for an answer.

"No idea, Spike." She finally answered, having come up with nothing. Sure, she had seen portals before, but nothing like this. She didn't know of any portals that launched lightning bolts around the area right before appearing. Or that gave off an eerie, purple glow.

Fluttershy had forgotten how long they had stood there, watching this purple portal that sat in the middle of her house. It wasn't until Rainbow Dash spoke up shortly after that they all decided they needed to check it out.

"Somepony, um, should... should, you know, go check it out." She stammered. They could all hear the fear in her voice, and frankly, nopony judged her for being scared. They had never encountered something like this before.

Slowly but surely, the Ponies all approached it, Twilight in the lead.

But before they could get much closer, the portal suddenly turned crimson red, and the humming noise was replaced with a terrifying grinding sound that hurt their ears. The crimson glow from the portal cast a demonic atmosphere over the room. One that made Fluttershy's mane stand on end.

"Oh my Celestia..." Rarity silently exclaimed.

And to make matters worse, the portal was starting to suck the Ponies in!

Twilight Sparkle, the glow gone from her horn, quickly grabbed a leg on the nearby dining table and held on for dear life.

"Grab onto something!" She screamed to the others as loudly as she could, barely making herself heard over the sound of the portal.

The other Ponies quickly followed her lead, grabbing onto anything they could to save themselves from being pulled into the portal. It wasn't long before they were all off the ground, the portal doing its best to suck them all in.

"Hang on, y'all!" Applejack shouted, having grabbed onto a nearby door frame, Rarity right next to her. She let out a yell when her favorite hat suddenly flew off of her head and into the portal. Strangely enough, the portal wasn't sucking in anything except for the Ponies. But they had no time to figure out why.

"What is going on!?" Pinkie Pie cried, who was holding onto a window frame, with Fluttershy hanging on right next to her. She could see Rainbow Dash holding onto one of the cabinets next to her, Spike held firmly in her wing.

But the force of the portal was getting stronger. It felt as if they were all caught inside of a giant vacuum cleaner!

Just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, Fluttershy began to lose her grip on the window frame. She gasped and let out a terrified shriek when she saw she couldn't hold on much longer.

"Ah... help me!" She called out, making the others look over at her in fear.

"Hold on, Fluttershy!" Twilight Sparkle cried, fearing for her friends' life. She didn't know what would happen if she flew into that portal, and she wasn't too keen to try and find out. She wanted to use her magic to help her, but she was having a hard enough time holding onto the table.

However, Fluttershy couldn't hold on any longer. With a final gasp, and a tear in her eye, she lost her grip on the window frame and flew, screaming, into the portal. She tried to flap her wings and escape, but it was no use. It was as if they were superglued to her sides.

 _"This is it... I'm going to die..."_ She thought miserably to herself, watching the world, the friends, and the life she knew and loved disappear from sight, before blacking out.

The other ponies looked wide-eyed in pure fright as their friend was sucked right into the crimson sphere and disappeared.

"FLUTTERSHY!" They all screamed.

A few restless moments later, the portal finally disappeared in a bright, crimson flash, and the Ponies could finally move around again. The lights came back on shortly after.

At first glance, everything appeared as bright and cheerful as it had been minutes ago. But there was something missing. Or rather, some _pony_.

"Fluttershy, are you still here? Where are you!?" Twilight Sparkle cried, struggling to catch her breath after nearly losing her grip and flying into the portal herself, not seeing any sign of Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash flew out the window to look outside, while the other four searched the house, high and low.

Rainbow Dash soon flew back into the house, looking extremely distraught.

"No sign of her outside." She reported grimly. The others lowered their heads. There was no sign of her inside, either.

"Oh no... what happened to her?" Rarity asked, completely distraught. Pinkie Pie and Applejack both walked over to where the portal had been mere minutes ago, tears in their eyes. What had happened to their friend? Their friend, who just a few minutes ago, had been celebrating her birthday with all of them?

"Fluttershy..." Pinkie Pie choked out, before bursting into tears. Rarity and Applejack both broke down as well, and joined her in crying over the fate of their friend. Applejack tried to reach up to grab her hat, but then remembered that it was gone, too. Rainbow Dash just looked away, her wings drooped, unable to watch this depressing scene anymore.

Twilight Sparkle was at a total loss over what to do, and as such, she was left standing near the dining table, trying as hard as she could to find a solution to this problem.

"Um, Twilight? What do we do now?" Spike asked, clearly having no idea what to do about this situation. He was sad over Fluttershy's fate, too. Though he tried his best not to show it in front of Rarity.

Twilight Sparkle just looked over at him, a half miserable; half confused look on her face.

"I wish I knew, Spike..." Was all she could say. She had no idea how they could help her friend. Even if they assembled all the Princess' and the Elements of Harmony together to help, they would still have an immense amount of trouble trying to find where she had ended up, and even then, there was no guarantee they could pull Fluttershy out of wherever she was.

Twilight simply sighed and lowered her head, tears forming in her eyes, unsure what they could do to fix this latest disaster that had just befallen their wonderful friend. Would they ever see her again?

* * *

 **-** ** _Back in Toontown_** **-**

"Hey, Mildew! Over here!" Snappy shouted to Mildew, blowing a raspberry at her. Mildew turned to Snappy, growing furiously, and launched a bundle of TNT at him.

Dusty quickly realized what was about to happen and gasped loudly. Somehow he didn't think this was Snappy's best idea ever.

"Snappy, NO! You're only going to make things worse!" He quickly shouted to his little brother, trying to warn him. But it was too late.

It was only after she fired the TNT that Mildew realized where Snappy was standing.

Right in front of the control unit!

Mildew gave a horrified expression and dove behind a nearby stack of crates.

Dusty just turned and covered his ears.

Snappy quickly flew away from the control unit. Clearly, everyone knew something was about to happen.

Everyone except Mystery.

Mystery had just come around, and was now standing up, a hand on his forehead. His head was still spinning after being hit in the head with Snappy's hammer.

"Ugh... what's going on?" He asked, before looking over and spotting a bundle of TNT flying in his direction. His eyes narrowed, and he sighed in frustration.

"Note to self: Remember to take Mildew's TNT launcher away." He muttered to himself, shortly before screaming as the TNT bundle hit the control unit in front of him and exploded. The blast blew away most of the unit, sent Mystery crashing into the wall on the other side of the room, knocking him out, and sending the Power Medal flying across the room.

Snappy flew up and caught it easily.

"Yes! I got it!" He cheered happily, before flying over to Dusty, medal in his hand. "Look, Dusty, I got it!"

But Dusty wasn't concerned about the Power Medal. His eyes were on the wormhole machine. The bright magenta portal had now grown crimson red, and the humming noise had been replaced with a spooky grinding sound. The thing looked like it had just gone out of control!

"Now you did it." Dusty told Snappy, eyeing the machine with a deep dread in his heart. He had no idea what it was doing. Was it getting more than one creature? Was it simply going haywire? Or was something even more insane about to happen?

Snappy just looked confused.

"What do you mean? I got the Power Medal!" He exclaimed happily. But Dusty quickly grabbed him and jumped behind a nearby steel barricade. The two Cogs that were in the room quickly bolted for the door, running as fast as their legs could carry them.

"Yeah, but at what cost? That thing just went out of control, and without those controls, we might not be able to stop it now!" Dusty explained to Snappy. He doubted the machine had an emergency "OFF" switch anywhere; Mystery wasn't smart, or dumb _( depending on how you looked at it )_ enough to put one of those on his machines, no matter how small or unimportant they were.

Snappy gave Dusty a baffled look. Clearly he hadn't planned ahead for this.

"What'll we do then?" He asked, not sure what they could do to stop this dreaded device.

"I'm not sure, Snap." Dusty replied, looking back over at the machine, covering his face with his hand. It was still shining brightly.

Snappy stood thinking for a moment, wondering what they could do to possibly destroy the machine, when all of a sudden, he got an idea. An idea that he hoped would work. And dreaded it didn't.

He took one of Dusty's TNT gags from his gag pouch and ran close to the machine. He didn't know how much time he had.

Dusty, who hadn't noticed Snappy grabbing one of his gags, suddenly gasped when he saw what Snappy was doing. He thought to go after him, but something was holding him back.

"Snappy, what are you doing!?" Dusty called out. He was hoping beyond hope that Snappy knew what he was doing.

But Snappy couldn't hear him. He lit the fuse on the TNT, and then pitched it into the machine like a baseball. It hit its mark directly.

"HIT THE DECK!" Snappy shouted, as Dusty ran up behind him. The pair quickly turned to run back to the barricade just as the TNT exploded.

Dusty and Snappy both dived for cover behind the barricade, as pieces of the machine flew everywhere. The crimson portal had disappeared, and the loud noise it was making had stopped. The room had gone dark and silent following the destruction of the wormhole machine. A second later, the overhead lights came back online.

"Well. That didn't go so well..." Mildew said, who had come out of hiding to see the machine destroyed.

 _"_ _Thus ends another genius scheme to overthrow Toontown."_ She thought to herself bitterly. She knew Mystery was going to be furious about this.

She quickly bolted to Mystery, picked him up, and ran full-speed from the lab. With any luck, she and Mystery could get away while Dusty and Snappy were busy dealing with the prisoners.

Snappy wiped his brow, and sighed with relief. Dusty just looked with wide eyes at where the machine had been just moments ago. He hadn't been expecting THAT, of all things!

"Well, looks like that's the end of that." Snappy said, wiping his hands. He had to admit, he had handled the situation pretty well! At least, in his own personal opinion.

Dusty opened his mouth to say something, but he never got the chance.

"AHHH!" A loud scream from the prison cell caught the two brother's attention.

They turned and ran over to the cell. Dusty grabbed the door with both hands and ripped it off easily. He tossed it aside like an oversized playing card and the pair entered.

And gasped when they saw what had happened.

One of the Toons, a bright yellow cat, was lying on her back, a metal rod from the machine sticking out of her chest. Dusty could tell by where it was sticking out from that it had pierced her heart. The other Toons in the cell, minus the young mouse, who was currently crying over the dead Toons body, were looking over at Snappy with anger in their eyes.

"Are you crazy, Snappy!? Look at what you've done!" A tall green bear shouted, pointing at the yellow cat.

"Yeah, this is all your fault!" An orange rabbit pitched in, glaring at Snappy as if he were some sort of monster.

"You should be ashamed of yourself, Snappy! How could you be so reckless!?" An aqua duck called out. Clearly, he was convinced that Snappy could have handled the situation better, but didn't, and cost this poor Toon her life as a result.

The Toons insults all hit Snappy like anvils, one after another. Had he really blown it that badly? Sure, he accidently activated the machine, destroyed the controls so they couldn't stop it, and then blown it up, killing an innocent Toon in the process...

He shuddered and stopped his train of thought as Dusty put a hand on his shoulder.

"I hate to say it, Snappy, but that wasn't the smartest move you've ever made. You should have tried to shut down the machine instead of destroying the controls." The older brother told him, a sort of sadness in his eyes. Probably over the fact his brother had just blown it on a very important mission.

Snappy could only watch as Dusty walked over and handed the Toons their portable holes and Shticker books so they could get home. He then picked up the dead Toon and turned to Snappy, who was just standing there in shock.

"We really should go, Snappy, before more security Cogs show up." Dusty said, before pulling out his own portable hole and jumping into it. Snappy's thoughts were all a mess as he pulled out his portable hole and leapt into it as well.

He had really blown it this time... out of all his blunders on missions with his older brother, this one topped them all. Never before had he caused the death of a fellow Toon. And now that he had, what would the rest of Toontown say when they found out about what he had done? It would only be a matter of time before those captured Toons let slip what had happened.

 _"Maybe it won't be that bad."_ He thought to himself. He had blown it a couple of times in the past, and everyone in Toontown still seemed to like him. Maybe this time he'd be just fine.

* * *

Dusty Bumblejinks and all associated characters are owned and copyright by Bulldozer Studios.

Fluttershy, My Little Pony and all associated characters are owned and copyright by Hasbro.

Toontown and all associated characters, including the cogs, are owned and copyright by The Walt Disney Company.


	3. 2 One Little Slip

**_\- The next day -_**

Did Snappy think, even for a moment, that things couldn't possibly get THAT BAD following his royal slip-up taking down Mystery's wormhole machine? He felt like a fool for ever thinking such a thought.

At first, Toons who read _The Toontown Times_ the next morning thought there had been a mistake. How could Snappy Bumblejinks suddenly be one of the most hated Toons in town? And then the story started to spread: THE Snappy Bumblejinks, sidekick to their legendary hero Dusty Bumblejinks, had blown it in front of not only his hero, but several other Toons as well, causing one of them to die, and everyone seemed to think he had done so on purpose, noting that he had ignored his brothers warnings multiple times, even though they weren't much of warnings to begin with. Some Toons had even said that he should be locked up for what they could only describe as "Cold-blooded murder".

And true to what the paper said, Snappy went from being one of the most beloved Toons in town to one of the most hated. Everyone was furious at him for causing what they all thought was a very avoidable death. All he had to do, in their opinion, was not activate the machine in the first place, try to use the controls to shut it down, and certainly not destroy it in front of innocents who had next to no protection from the flying debris! The prison cells bars had done nothing to stop the pieces of the machine from killing the yellow cat.

Dusty, of course, remained indifferent despite the situation. He only encouraged his brother to just "Try to move past it and keep going." But that wasn't the easiest thing in the world to do when everyone in Toontown hated your guts.

Of course, nobody blamed Dusty for anything that happened, which confused and frustrated him, and only made Snappy even more upset. Though Dusty had attempted to tell everyone that he should have kept a closer eye on Snappy, and that if he had planned out the mission better, this entire scenario could have been avoided, nobody was buying it for a minute, which only further aggravated Dusty.

"Some days, Snappy, I seriously hate being a hero." Dusty had told his little brother that morning, glaring at the newspaper and shaking his head in frustration, a hint of venom in his tone. "Everybody thinks you're godly perfection that can do no wrong, even when it comes to planning out infiltration missions in Bossbot Headquarters. If I'd spent more time on the plan, everything would have been fine! Am I the only one who understands that!?"

So now, little Snappy wandered through the streets a town fool. He had nobody but his siblings and their friend Melody to turn to, and he couldn't have felt emptier in his life. How in the name of Mike could he ever make up for this latest blunder?

He heard footsteps nearby and looked over to see the Hucklebee twins, Penny and Penelope, hurrying across the street to a nearby ice cream shop. One of them paused and pointed at Snappy, causing the other to look over, let out a loud gasp, and then hurry into the shop without a second look. The first sister watched her go, looked back at Snappy with a confused look on her face, and then entered the shop herself.

He couldn't tell which one was who because of how identical they looked. Both were tall ToonFest Blue cats who wore purple dresses they had gotten on Halloween. But Snappy was sure of one thing: They were probably making fun of him inside that shop. They were always known as the queens of gossip around Toontown.

Snappy just sighed, buried his hands in the pockets of his Cog-Buster suit, and went on his way down the street. He passed a couple of Toons who were busy taking down a level nine Spin Doctor. They stopped their battle to laugh at him as he passed. The Spin Doctor just looked confused.

Just as Snappy was rounding the corner to go back to the playground of The Brrrgh, Dusty ran out through the tunnel. Snappy watched as he quickly scanned the street, and upon seeing Snappy, ran up to him quickly.

"Hey, Snap. How you doing?" He asked upon reaching his little brother, who just sighed sadly.

"Could be better." The younger Bumblejinks grumbled.

Dusty quirked an eyebrow at him.

"What's the matter?" Dusty asked him, kneeling down to his level. Snappy just crossed his arms and let out a frustrated huff.

"Everything. Toons run away from me when I'm just walking down the street, others laugh at me as I pass, even the Cogs look at me with a confused look in their eyes, as if they don't understand why everyone hates me so much." Snappy complained a look of contempt in his eyes. He really wished everyone would just forget about his big mistake and move on.

Dusty gave him a disappointed look. He put a hand on Snappy's shoulder and turned him around to face him.

"Come on, Snappy. So the towns a little angry at you over a little mishap. Big deal! I messed up a couple of times when I was your age, too, but you wouldn't have seen me sitting around moping." Dusty told him, in a very "Wise" tone.

Snappy gave him a wounded look.

"You never made the entire town mad at you over accidently killing another Toon, though, did you?" He asked miserably.

Dusty just looked down, letting go of Snappy.

"I guess not." He said in a hushed tone. He then looked back up at Snappy. "But hey, at least Toons aren't throwing things at you-"

He was interrupted by someone shouting "MONSTER!" nearby, causing them both to look over. A tall teal bear was standing in front of a hardware store, holding a trash can lid like a frisbee. Without another word, the bear threw it at Snappy.

Dusty gasped, stood up, and caught the lid with ease. He then glared at the bear, whom had a look of pure contempt on his face.

"Back off, Dusty! You're little brother has to learn a lesson!" The bear called, grabbing another lid off a nearby garbage can.

Both Bumblejinks Bros. just looked at him as if he were crazy.

"You want to play catch? Fine. I'll play!" Dusty shouted, and before anyone could stop him, he threw the trash can lid back at the bear with all his might.

The bear held up his lid like a shield in an attempt to block it, but the incoming lid hit him so hard it broke both lids in half, and sent him flying through the door of the hardware shop, where he hit an inside wall with a crash. The door slowly swung shut.

Snappy laughed at the entire display.

"Nice one, Dusty!" He said happily, as the older Bumblejinks just wiped his hands.

Dusty then sighed.

"Guess I spoke to soon about people throwing things at you." He said, scratching the back of his head.

 _"Note to self: Learn when to keep my mouth shut."_

Dusty then remembered why he had come all this way to find his brother. He snapped his fingers and knelt down to Snappy's level again. Snappy turned to face him.

"Oh, right. I just remembered. Melody wanted me to tell you something. It looks like that wormhole machine we destroyed yesterday succeeded in doing its job after all." Dusty began to explain, getting Snappy's full attention. "She sensed a unknown creature entering the Tooniverse via a strange portal somewhere off Chip and Dales Acorn Acres this morning."

Snappy gave him a curious look.

"What do you think it was?" He asked his brother, to which Dusty just shrugged.

"Definitely not some kind of horrible monster or we would have seen it ripping the town apart by now." Dusty replied. He then pulled out his Shticker book, looked at one of the pages, and frowned, before looking back at Snappy. "I was going to go check it out, but Legal Eagles are attacking The Brrrgh and I have to go help the Toons defend it. Think you can go check it out for me?"

Snappy just nodded.

"I guess. I need something to do, after all." He said bitterly.

Dusty just smiled and patted his back, putting his Shticker book away.

"Oh, yeah, Melody also said there was a young cream colored cat Toon in a pink dress out there that needs help as well. I don't know why, but she wanted you to go look for her." Dusty said, shrugging at Snappy in confusion, who simply gave Dusty a blank look.

"Oh yeah, sure, give me something else to mess up royally." Snappy said sarcastically.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up over one mistake. I'm sure everything will work out in the end." He told Snappy, giving him a reassuring thumps up. Dusty then stood up, readjusted his gloves, and took off down the street toward The Brrrgh.

It was only then that Snappy realized where he was. He was on Lighthouse Lane, which led to The Brrrgh.

"Well, Chip and Dales is pretty close to here. Guess I may as well go check it out. Shouldn't take long to get there." He said to himself. He then turned and started toward the playground.

However, before he had taken three steps...

"GET BACK HERE, YOU MURDERER!"

Snappy gasped, turned sharply on the spot, and felt the color from his face drain when he saw what it was.

The bear was back, this time with several other Toons in tow, and they were all chasing after him!

Snappy just sighed.

"On second thought, this may take a while..." He said bitterly, before turning around and dashing off at full-speed.

 ** _""It was a recipe for disaster_**

 ** _A four-course meal of no sirree_**

 ** _It seemed that happily ever after_**

 ** _Was happy everyone was after me"_**

Snappy rounded a corner, a small mob of furious Toons hot on his heels, and jumped behind a large stack of crates near a small shop.

He sat and waited a few minutes, until he was sure the mob was gone, before poking his head out to see where they were.

"Phew. Lost those idiots." He said happily to himself, before climbing out of his hiding place.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME!?" He heard the bear's furious shout nearby and turned to spot the mob heading his way from the other end of the street. He sighed in frustration.

"Tartar sauce..."

 ** _"It was a cup of good intentions_**

 ** _A tablespoon of one big mess_**

 ** _A dash of overreaction_**

 ** _I assume you know the rest"_**

Snappy quickly engaged his jetpack, flew over the crowd, and continued on his way down the street.

"Got to hide... got to hide..." He muttered to himself, as he lept over a young mothers baby carriage, slid under and past a couple of kids playing leapfrog in the street, and zig-zagged through some Pencil Pushers who were coming out of a nearby Cog building.

All the while he was dodging obstacles in the street, the angry mob behind him was slowly growing in size and in fury.

 ** _"One little slip_**

 ** _One little slip_**

 ** _It was a fusion of confusion_**

 ** _With a few confounding things"_**

Snappy quickly pulled out a bundle of TNT he had borrowed from Dusty, lit the fuse, and dropped it behind him. He rounded another corner and kept on going, not slowing down.

The angry mob was just reaching the corner when the TNT exploded, dropping several of their number into a sizeable ditch and causing some damage to a couple of the nearby shops.

The Toons who fell into the ditch all begged and pleaded for help, for it was too deep to climb out. Toons quickly surrounded the ditch and attempted to pull them out.

"Sheesh, it wasn't bad enough that he killed an innocent cat, now he wants to blow half the town apart!?" A teal dog shouted in anger, surveying the damage to the surrounding area.

"That little dog is a menace!" A crimson mouse exclaimed.

 ** _"I guess I probably took the wrong direction_**

 ** _Well, I admit I might have missed a sign or two_**

 ** _I ran a light past your affection_**

 ** _At Humiliation Avenue"_**

Snappy dived behind another stack of boxes and looked back down the street. No sign of the angry mob that had been chasing him. Thank goodness.

"Note to self: Remember to carry more TNT." Snappy told himself, before turning and spotting more Toons coming his way. They all seemed to look concerned about something.

He crouched down behind the crates and watched them go past. They must have been going to check on that explosion.

"Better motor before they catch up with me." He silently said, before jumping out from behind his hiding place and dashing down the street. The tunnel had to be close.

 ** _"I took a right turn at confusion_**

 ** _A left, when I should have gone straight on through_**

 ** _I ran ahead with my assumptions_**

 ** _And we all know what that can do"_**

"THERE HE IS!" He heard someone shout behind him. He just groaned in exasperation.

"Give me a break already..." He panted, finally reaching the tunnel to the playground. But he knew he couldn't go into the playground with an angry mob on his tail. He needed a distraction.

He pulled out a spare geyser he had been holding onto, aimed it at a nearby fire hydrant next to a shop, hit the button, and dashed through the tunnel to the playground.

The angry mob hadn't seen him go through the tunnel, but they DID see the geyser next to the shop, which had all of its windows open. The geyser quickly flooded the entire shop through the open windows, and a moment later, the two clerks who worked inside came tumbling out of the front door as the water forced it open. It was as if a wave had struck the inside of the shop.

"Oh, great, now he's flooding shops!" Another Toon screamed in fury, to which the rest of the mob shouted in agreement, as they hurried over to help the two clerks.

 ** _"One little slip_**

 ** _One little slip_**

 ** _It was a fusion of confusion_**

 ** _And a few confounding things"_**

Snappy finally reached the playground to Donald's Dock, and wasn't happy to see it crowded with other Toons. And for good reason: There was a Resistance Ranger standing next to the Toon HQ, and he was currently talking with the giant crowd.

"Not going to get to Chip and Dales with them hanging around. I have to get rid of them somehow." Snappy muttered to himself, diving behind a nearby group of bushes next to the tunnel. He quietly peeked out to check the area.

He then looked over and spotted a grand piano being lifted into the gag shop via a small crane. He smiled to himself. How lucky could a dog get?

"Classic." He said to himself, getting his jetpacks attached cream pie cannon ready. This little thing could fire a pie much further and faster than a Toon could throw, making it effective for long range combat... or dealing with problems in general.

 ** _"I get the feeling in this town_**

 ** _I'll never live 'til I live down_**

 ** _The one mistake that seems to_**

 ** _Follow me around"_**

After checking to make sure nobody was watching, Snappy took aim at the small crane lifting the grand piano into the gag shop, closed his left eye, and pulled the trigger.

With an almighty "BANG!", the cannon fired a cream pie directly into the crane operator's cockpit, causing him to let out a yelp of surprise and let go of the controls.

With a gasp, he bolted out of the crane and looked down at the dock below. The piano was falling directly toward a pair of young cats who were talking outside of the gag shop.

"LOOK OUT BELOW!" The crane operator shouted, but it was too late. The piano hit the dock with a loud crash and the sound of multiple sour notes, and smashed a giant hole in front of the gag shop, dropping both cats, screaming, into the cold water.

 ** _"They'll forget about the sky_**

 ** _When they all realize this guy's_**

 ** _About to try to learn to fly_**

 ** _Or hit the ground"_**

"What in Pete's name!?" The Resistance Ranger exclaimed, before dashing over to see what had happened, the crowd of Toons hot on his heels. The two cats that had fallen into the water were begging and pleading for help. The water was too cold for them.

Snappy nodded in approval once everyone was distracted, then bolted to the tunnel to Chip and Dales.

 _"So far, so good. I'm almost there."_ He thought to himself, praising himself for a job well done.

 ** _"It was a cup of good intentions_**

 ** _A tablespoon of one big mess_**

 ** _A dash of overreaction_**

 ** _I assume you know the rest"_**

Upon arriving at Chip and Dale's, Snappy quickly took in the surrounding area. Thankfully, the place was pretty much empty. There were a few cats near the gazebo roleplaying as warrior cats, which made him frown. How was he going to get past them?

The answer to that question came when he saw them point to a tall blue rabbit that was fishing on the docks nearby, and had just made a nasty comment about them. They all dashed over as fast as they could and pounced on him at once, causing them all to topple off the dock and into the lake.

Snappy just sighed and shrugged.

"Those cats get weirder and weirder every day." He muttered to himself, watching the rabbit climb out of the water and shout at the cats in anger, whom all simply ran away laughing, before hurrying off toward the forest.

 ** _"One little slip_**

 ** _One little slip_**

 ** _It was a humble little stumble_**

 ** _With a big ungraceful..."_**

Snappy grinned to himself upon finally reaching the forest. He had managed to elude angry mobs, a Resistance Ranger, and crazy role-players, and now he could begin looking for who, or what, that wormhole machine had sent to the Tooniverse.

"I hope I didn't hurt anyone too badly. That TNT was kind of powerful..." He said quietly, hoping nobody had gotten hurt by his attempts to get away from his pursuers. He didn't like the methods he had resorted to in order to get away, but he had no choice; His jetpack was nearly out of power. He couldn't have just flown here.

Shaking the thought away, he pulled out his cream pie cannon from his jetpack once again and began looking for the missing creature. With any luck, he'd find it before it found him. He also had to keep an eye out for that cream cat that needed help. Where the heck could she be?

 ** _"One little slip_**

 ** _One little slip_**

 ** _It was a fusion of confusion_**

 ** _With a few confounding things.""_**

* * *

 ** _\- One hour later...-_**

"Ugh... ooh..." Fluttershy groaned in agony. Every part of her body hurt as if it had just gotten run over by a train. She couldn't clearly make out where she was, due to her vision being blurred out.

A few moments later, her vision became clear, and she was able to see where she was. She was lying on her back, deep in some kind of giant forest, with loads of trees, rocks, and grass all around her. They looked like nothing she had ever seen before. She'd seen many kinds of plants in her life, in forests, plains and meadows alike, but something about these plants looked... weird.

They looked slightly... _Cartoonish._

Fluttershy was used to cartoony-looking surroundings, but this was on a level all of itself. Some of the trees twisted and turned, some were square-shaped, and many more were shaped in ways that she had never seen before. She could have sworn some of the flowers in the area were dancing around. They were moving around a lot, despite there being only a tiny breeze at that moment.

 _"My friends would all faint if they saw how crazy these plants looked. Especially Rarity."_ Fluttershy thought to herself, letting out a sigh. At least none of them seemed dangerous.

And she had to admit, those flowers DID look kind of cute as they danced around. But she didn't want to lie there watching them all day.

She looked up and saw the bright blue sky over her.

 _"At least the sky looks normal."_ She thought, seeing some normal-looking clouds go by.

Then she saw the sun, and let out a sharp gasp of shock.

The sun was at least the size of her hoof. _And it had a face on it!_

She quickly looked away, not wanting to damage her eyes, but also because she didn't want to keep looking at that grinning face. It scared her to look at, despite how ridiculous it looked. It reminded her of things much to touchy to go into detail about.

 _"And I thought Nightmare Moon was scary..."_ She thought to herself once again. She'd have to ask about that later... if she ever got the chance.

For now, she had to focus on finding somewhere safe, where she could get some information on where she was. And what had happened to that portal that brought her here.

She quickly rolled over onto her hands and knees.

And let out another sharp gasp of shock.

Hands! Knees!

She quickly closed her eyes, hoping beyond hope that what she was about to see wouldn't be as bad as she thought it would be. With a gulp of fright, she slowly opened her eyes and looked down.

Her hooves were gone. Instead, she had two white gloved hands that she was sure weren't supposed to be there. She closed her hand and made a fist, then lowered it to the ground, a confused look on her face.

She then sat down and looked further down at the end of her legs. She had two cream-colored bare feet that slightly resembled animal paws. They looked small, but they were big enough that she could move around. But she knew for sure they weren't supposed to be there.

"What's happened to me...?" She asked silently, still in shock over this entire ordeal.

As if by magic, a large mirror suddenly appeared to her right. She recoiled upon first seeing it, but not because of the mirror itself. It was what she saw INSIDE the mirror that shocked her, for about the tenth time that day. She turned herself around to face it.

Sure enough, she was no longer a young Pegasus Pony. She had transformed into something else. Something she had never seen before. Something that made her rub her eyes _( despite having never done so before in her life )_ and take a second, close look into the mirror.

She had turned into, what appeared to be, a short humanoid cat, with cream colored fur. She had long, flowing pink hair on her head that matched her mane, ending in a small curl, which she ran her hands through, as if wondering if it was really there. She then reached up and felt two short, pointed ears at the top of her head, which looked very similar to a cats ears, and nothing like her usual Pony ears. They twitched and flicked when she touched them in a certain spot, and at that moment, they were picking up all sorts of sounds in the nearby area. The sound of the light breeze rustling the trees and the grass was coming through to her more clearly than ever before. She felt the small black button nose on her muzzle that was currently picking up the scent of fresh pine trees and healthy flowers.

She was missing her tail and wings. Instead she had on a pretty pink knee-length dress with bright magenta trim and short sleeves that reached halfway to her elbows. It had a set of three small butterflies stitched on the front of it, which resembled her cutie mark.

Her eyes widened. She quickly reached down, lifted her skirt slightly _( again, despite having never done so before in her life )_ , and turned her side to face the mirror, checking to see if she still had her cutie mark.

What she saw only caused tears to appear in her eyes.

No cutie mark. It was gone.

She ran a hand over the spot where her cutie mark should have been, a slight hint of fear in her eyes, but there was nothing. Just cream-colored fur.

Letting go of her skirt, and with tears in her eyes, she looked at the ground and whimpered, tears forming in her eyes.

What had happened to her? Why was she here? Why hadn't her friends joined her here? Why had this happened to HER, of all Ponies?

She was pretty sure her friends hadn't joined her in that dreaded portal, so they were all likely back in Ponyville. But that just meant that she was here by herself. And without her wings, she couldn't even fly. She had nothing to go on.

She was all alone, lost in some foreign land she had never seen or been to before. And she was terrified. She had no idea how to get home. But even if she did, how could she go home looking like she did now? She looked nothing like the cute Pegasus Pony everyone knew and loved.

"I can't go home like this..." She said silently and miserably to herself, burying her face in her hands as she began to cry. "Who would recognize me like this? I'm a monster! I'm a... a... " She stammered, tears raining down from her eyes. It was quite a heartbreaking sight.

"A Toon, young one." A mysterious voice said from somewhere nearby. It sounded like Luna from the Lunar RPG series ( especially Silver Star Story Complete ), only slightly older. It was sweet, innocent, easy on the ears, and had a hint of sage-like wisdom to it.

Fluttershy gasped and looked up, trying to see who it was who had spoken.

"Who... who's there?" She asked, fear suddenly taking over again. She didn't recognize that voice. But then again, what did she expect in a place she had never seen or been to before?

"Over here, little one." The stranger had called out again. It sounded like it was coming from behind her.

Fluttershy quickly stood up and turned, and quietly gasped again.

Of all things to see in a place like this, she NEVER expected something like this!

It was a tall bright blue cat who had spoken. She was about a head or so taller than Fluttershy. She had long hair of the same bright blue color, which was tipped in a beautiful lighter blue color. She was wearing a long, white robe, or dress, with pretty silver trim and dazzling blue jewels around the collar. It looked very royal and beautiful, like something Rarity might have designed. A silver tiara atop her head with a light blue snowflake design on the front signified she must be royalty of some description. She was barefoot like Fluttershy, with the same animal-like paws for feet that she had. She was holding a long white staff in one hand, which was almost as tall as she was, which had the same light blue snowflake design on it as her tiara did.

Fluttershy just stood in stunned silence. The mysterious cat just smiled warmly at her.

"There's no need to be scared, young one. I won't hurt you." The stranger said, snapping her fingers. The mirror next to Fluttershy disappeared in a puff of blue smoke, startling Fluttershy and causing her to recoil from the spot where it had once stood.

The tall cat then quickly strode over to Fluttershy, seemingly gliding along the ground like a tall blue and white swan.

"Um... who are you?" Fluttershy asked, quickly looking away. She didn't know whether to be scared or fascinated by this mysterious creature, who at that time had put a hand on her shoulder in a soothing sort of way.

"They call me Melody around here." Melody responded, lowering herself to her knees so she was on level with Fluttershy, who had turned around to face her. Melody had this strange aura around her that made you want to trust her, and Fluttershy couldn't deny the warmth in her eyes that made you feel happy inside, and made you want to forget about the worlds many problems.

Too bad Fluttershy's problems were too big and dangerous for her to feel even remotely happy at that instance. She was still deep in trouble.

"You gave me quite a fright, young one." The blue cat started again, letting out a sad sigh, as if she were already regretting what she was about to say. "When I saw that wormhole open here in the middle of the forest, I knew something was amiss. So I came out here to see what had happened. That's when I found you, a little Pony, passed out here in the middle of nowhere."

Fluttershy's eyes widened when Melody said the word "Pony". Was she still a Pony when she got sent here? Then how did she...

"I... I was still a Pony? But, why do I look like..." She gestured down to her current form. Melody gave Fluttershy another sad look, which hurt Fluttershy's heart to look at. She clearly didn't like seeing such a beautiful creature giving her such an upset look.

"I knew there would be an uproar if someone like you was found here in this town. We don't have Ponies in this town, after all. Or this world, for that matter. So I used my power to turn you into one of us." Melody explained, taking note of the shocked look on Fluttershy's face. "It was to help you blend in, and to avoid any trouble."

"Trouble? Why would an innocent little Pony cause trouble?" Fluttershy wondered. Surely, the sight of a Pony in whatever place she was in wouldn't cause THAT much of an uproar... could it?

Melody just sighed again.

"Young one, I don't know how to tell you this, but... the world you know, the way of life you know... this isn't it. You're in an entirely different world." Melody said, once again catching Fluttershy off guard, for her eyes had widened.

"What do you mean? I'm in a different world?" Fluttershy asked, still not getting the full story.

Melody gave her another sad look.

"This in the Tooniverse, young one. A world where we live off of fun and silliness, and where we've never seen or heard of Ponies or you're world before. You're Equestria, you're princess Celestia, you're hometown of Ponyville, and all of your friends... they don't exist here. You're the first of your kind to ever set foot, or hoof, as you call it, into this world." Melody explained further.

Fluttershy was completely and utterly shocked. That portal... had sent her to an entirely different world. A world where none of her friends, or her home, had ever existed. It was as if she had traveled through time and space.

 _"To boldly go where no Pony has gone before... Not even Daring Do..."_ She thought to herself. Only she didn't feel bold at that particular time. She felt scared and confused. And full of questions that needed answers.

"But how did I get here? All I remember is getting sucked into this giant purple portal, then... nothing." Fluttershy asked, recounting how she had gotten here.

Melody suddenly acquired an angry expression. Fluttershy could somehow tell this was going to be a serious subject.

"I'm afraid it's all on account of this world's resident supervillain: The evil tyrant Mystery." Melody told Fluttershy, earning a confused look from her. "He's cruel, he's insane, and he's a monster. He's been running around this world causing trouble wherever he goes. He's out to conquer the world, you might say. And recently, he had tried to use a wormhole machine to bring some horrible monster into this world to destroy it. My guess is the machine thought YOU qualified as a horrible monster and brought you here."

Melody then stood up.

"I'm very sorry if this is all too confusing for you." She said to Fluttershy, who had simply shaken her head.

"No, it's alright. I just feel so... lost. So alone. I'm so used to having my friends around to help me when I get in trouble. But now that I'm all alone, I just feel..." She couldn't find the right word to describe how she felt.

"Empty?" Melody asked. Fluttershy nodded sadly at her.

"I have no idea what I'm going to do now." Fluttershy said quietly, looking down at the ground. She had never felt so empty in her life. What she wouldn't give to have her friends at her side. Surely together, they could find a way out of this mess...

"Well, sometimes bad things happen. I know I didn't want you to be dragged out of your comfort zone any more than anyone else did. But here you are." Melody replied, still with that sad expression on her face.

The older cat then paused to think for a moment, before looking back down at Fluttershy, who had just walked over to ask something else.

"I'm sorry to ask, but how am I able to use these..." She gestured to her hands and feet. "...whatever you call them? I've never had them before in my life."

Melody smiled warmly at her once again.

"I knew you would have trouble adapting to having this body, seeing as how you come from a world where you're kind walk on all fours. So I gave you the knowledge of how to use this body right after I transformed you." Melody explained, scratching the back of her head. "Again, it's to help you blend in. The last thing we need in this town is a little Pony showing up. Especially after yesterday's tragedy."

Fluttershy gave her a concerned look.

"Tragedy?" She asked, to which Melody simply sighed.

"That villain I mentioned before, Mystery, he wasn't just trying to bring some monster into this world. He had also taken a number of innocent Toons prisoner for attempting to break into his headquarters." She started, her heart heavy from having to talk about such a depressing subject. Fluttershy could sense her distress, and slowly approached.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked." Fluttershy said, suddenly feeling bad for having brought up such an uncomfortable subject. But Melody simply hand-waved it off.

"It's nothing. Anyway, there was a little accident in his lab that same day. This town's resident superhero and his sidekick, they were trying to stop Mystery from causing anymore mayhem in this town." The older cat went on, only to be stopped by Fluttershy, who had a curious look in her eye.

"Superhero?" She asked. Melody just smiled at her.

"Dusty Bumblejinks. The strongest Toon in town. He's spent the last twelve years of his life protecting this town from all sorts of threats. It's gotten to the point where everybody around here considers him the towns very own superhero. His younger brother Snappy joined his battle for peace about five years ago, and those two have been inseparable since." Melody rambled on, gazing up at the sky happily, shortly before catching herself and looking back down at Fluttershy.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I tend to ramble when something has happened." She then let out a low breath to calm herself. "Anyway, little Snappy, in a last resort to put the machine out of working order, threw some explosives into it and caused it to explode. But it was only afterwards did he discover a piece of the machine had pierced the heart of one of the prisoners, killing the poor girl."

"Oh." Fluttershy said in understanding, giving Melody a heartbreaking expression, no different than the one she was wearing when she thought Angel Bunny had gotten crushed by a falling pillar, minus the tears. She wasn't going to lie, she never liked hearing about a death. Especially when the deceased in question was just an innocent bystander. "I'm so sorry to hear that."

"We all were when we learned what had happened." Melody replied. "Of course, Toons rarely die in this town, and when they do, it's almost always another Toon's fault, so when the news got out, everyone was quick to blame and bash Snappy for causing the young cats death. I saw an angry mob chasing him through one of the neighborhoods of the town about an hour ago. Everyone except myself, his siblings, and a couple of our friends are furious at him. And he used to be one of the most beloved Toons ever."

Fluttershy could barely believe what she was hearing.

"That must be terrible." Fluttershy said. She couldn't imagine how that must feel. Going from one of the most beloved of your kind to one of the most hated in a single day, all because you had accidently killed someone while trying to stop an evil tyrant.

She suddenly pictured Princess Celestia having to seal away her sister Princess Luna/Nightmare Moon inside the moon. What if she had messed it up somehow and gotten somepony killed? Everypony and their grandmother would have wanted her removed from her throne, in favor of somepony who could do their duties WITHOUT causing any innocent deaths! It was purely speculation, but she could see it happening. Thank goodness it never came to that.

But despite how she felt, she still had a few questions she wanted answered.

"Um, if you don't mind me asking, what ARE Toons, anyway?" Fluttershy asked, earning another warm smile from Melody.

"Ah, I'm afraid we have spoken to long, young one. I must return to my home." The older cat answered, before putting a hand on Fluttershy's shoulder once again. "But don't fret. We'll be seeing each other again."

"But when? I've really got to get home. My friends are probably worried sick about me." Fluttershy worried, fearing her friends may do something rash if she didn't return. She knew how crazy they could get when things weren't going right. Especially Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle!

Melody thought for a second, before addressing her again.

"I may know of a way to get you home, but there are a number of things that are going to have to happen before I can do it. It's not an easy feat, and dare I say it, one I have never attempted before." Melody said, earning a hopeful look from Fluttershy.

"Is there a way? Any way?" Fluttershy asked, to which Melody simply nodded.

"Yes, I do think there is a way. But it will have to wait for a while. You've much to do before I can get you home." The older cat replied, before perking her ears up and looking out into the trees, her eyes wide.

Fluttershy heard it, too. Footsteps. Someone was coming!

But because their hearing was highly advanced, whoever it was sounded like they were still two hundred yards out.

"And first on the list is to find whoever that is." Melody said, nodding in the direction the footsteps were coming from. "Unless I'm mistaken, THAT is Snappy Bumblejinks. I figured it was only a matter of time before those brothers would come looking for whoever that portal sent here."

"Are you sure?" Fluttershy asked. She really didn't want to get herself into any more trouble... if that was even possible in her case.

Melody simply nodded.

"Don't worry. The Bumblejinks brothers are the good guys. You can trust them. They won't try to hurt you." She said, before bending down to Fluttershy's level to give her a hard look. "It's Mystery and his henchmen you have to watch out for. If he finds you, there'll be trouble. Tons of it."

Fluttershy shuddered. She didn't like the sound of this Mystery person. He sounded worse than every villain she had ever encountered before put together.

"My only advice to you, little Fluttershy, is to find the Bumblejinks Bros. as fast as you can, and stay well clear of that dark and unhappy brown cat, Mystery. Don't try to befriend him or get him to change his ways; He's already too far gone to be saved. And don't stick your neck out! Don't go telling Toons you're really a Pony from another world. It'll likely spark more trouble, and that's the last thing we need." Melody advised, finally standing back up.

"Is there anything else I should know?" Fluttershy asked.

"Glad you asked." Melody replied, smiling once again. "Come see me tomorrow. The Bumblejinks will know the way to find me." Melody instructed. Fluttershy then felt her hand leave her shoulder.

Fluttershy thought about what Melody had just said for a moment, before she realized something. Something that made her eyes widen.

"Hey, wait a minute! How do you know my name?" She asked, turning around to face Melody.

Only Melody wasn't there.

Eyes wide, Fluttershy turned in all directions, trying to find any trace of the mysterious blue cat who had just been speaking with her. It was as if she were never there.

She shuddered again. That cat was nice, and her advice was very welcome, but she was creepy. Especially with the disappearing act and her knowledge of Fluttershy's home world.

And how did she know her name? How did she know of Equestria? Of her friends? Of Princess Celestia, whom she had mentioned by name?

 _"This place is getting weirder and weirder by the minute."_ She thought to herself.

"Hello? Is anyone out there?"

She heard someone calling out nearby. It sounded like someone who was a couple of years younger than she was. She perked up her ears, turned, and started off in the direction of the voice, nearly tripping over something soft on the ground that she hadn't seen before.

She looked down and sighed with some minor relief. It was the golden scarf her friends had given her. It looked to be in mint condition.

 _"At least this is still here."_ She thought to herself, picking it up and wrapping it around herself once again. Somehow she felt slightly safer with this on.

She then noticed something else lying on the ground. Something that made her gasp once again.

Applejack's hat! She had forgotten that it had gotten pulled off of her head and into the portal as well.

Fluttershy quickly bent down and picked it up. It appeared to be in mint condition as well, despite the harsh ride into this world.

She then noticed yet another object on the ground, which had been lying underneath the hat.

It was a medium-sized strap-on shoulder bag.

She quirked an eyebrow at the mysterious bag, before bending down to examine it further. It was the same pink color as her dress, and it had her name stitched across the top in bright, golden letters. There was a note on top of it, which was addressed to her from Melody.

 _"You're going to need these. Please give this note to Snappy when you find him. Good luck!"_

Fluttershy wanted to have a look at the bags contents, but whoever was making those footsteps was getting closer, and she had to focus on finding them. Slipping Applejack's hat into the bag carefully, she slipped the strap over her shoulder, which gave her good reach into the bag with her left hand, And with the note to this Snappy person in hand, she quickly hurried off to find the source of the footsteps she was hearing. She was silently hoping it was this Snappy Bumblejinks person, and not somebody else.

* * *

Dusty Bumblejinks and all associated characters are owned and copyright by Bulldozer Studios.

Fluttershy, My Little Pony and all associated characters are owned and copyright by Hasbro.

Toontown and all associated characters, including the cogs, are owned and copyright by The Walt Disney Company.

 _"One Little Slip"_ Composed and Performed by Barenaked Ladies for the major motion picture "Chicken Little". All Rights Reserved.


	4. 3 The Cogs

Snappy continued to search through the forest, his trusty cream pie cannon in his hands, looking for whoever or whatever it was that had been sent into the Tooniverse by Mystery's wormhole machine, as well as the cream cat that Melody had said needed help. He was beginning to wonder how long this would take when he heard hurried footsteps approaching.

Letting out a short gasp, he quickly ducked behind a nearby tree and gripped his cream pie cannon tightly with both hands. With a low breath, he carefully took a step over to the edge of the tree and peeked out.

Luckily for him, it wasn't the mysterious creature that had gotten sent to this world. Instead, it was the cream colored cat that he had also been looking for. She matched the description perfectly: Young cream-colored cat Toon with a pink dress. He could also see she had a pink bag strapped to her shoulder, a golden-colored scarf around her neck with small jewels attached, and a note clutched in her hand. And at that moment she was heading his direction. However, she hadn't seen him yet.

She reminded him of the yellow cat he had accidently killed when he destroyed Mystery's wormhole machine the prior day. He shuddered at the thought, but quickly shook it off. He had a job to do, after all.

Putting the cream pie cannon away, he slowly stepped out of his hiding place and approached her. She was currently looking at a large white flower.

"Um, hello there." He called out, getting her attention. She gasped and looked over in his direction, before quietly looking back at the flower, a hand on her arm.

"Uh, hello..." She had said quietly, avoiding eye contact.

 _"Is this that Snappy Bumblejinks that Melody told me about?"_ Fluttershy wondered to herself, taking another quick peek at the blue Toon who had approached her. She noticed that he was slightly different then her in a couple of aspects. He had black flopping ears instead of pointed ones like hers, a somewhat larger nose _( about four times the size of her nose )_ , and a slightly larger muzzle. He was also wearing some kind of yellow work uniform with black boots and black fingerless gloves, instead of the white gloves she was wearing, and a black hat with a large golden letter "S" on it. He also appeared to have some kind of large device on his back. He was about the same height as her.

He cleared his throat once and stepped a little closer. She still avoided direct eye contact.

"It's alright. I won't hurt you." He told her reassuringly, taking slow, careful steps so as not to frighten her. "The names Snappy. Snappy Bumblejinks. Are you alright? I heard there was a little Toon out here who needed help."

Fluttershys eyes widened at that name. This was definitely the one Melody had told her to meet up with.

"Um, are you really? I, uh..." Fluttershy stammered, unable to find the words she was looking for. She silently cursed herself for being so shy. This was the one she was told to look for, but something made her look away.

Snappy, sensing she was distressed in some way, approached slowly and put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to gasp lightly and look over at him.

"Yes, I'm really Snappy Bumblejinks. Who did you think I was? The Tooth Fairy?" He asked, shrugging and chuckling at his own joke, even though it wasn't very good. He then sighed and dropped his tone slightly. "I'm truly sorry, that wasn't very funny."

Fluttershy just looked at him with a slight hint of uncertainty in her eyes. Could she really trust him? Could she afford not to? After all, what were the chances that Mystery guy was waiting behind a nearby tree, getting ready to attack them?

And besides, Melody HAD told her to give that note to him, and to find him as quickly as possible. She figured she may as well go along with her advice. It's not like she had any better ideas on what to do.

"Um... I was told to give you this." She quietly explained, handing him the note from Melody.

Quirking an eyebrow, Snappy took the note, saw that it was from Melody, and opened it up to take a look.

 _"Snappy, I assume this young one found you without any problem. Her name is Fluttershy, and it appears she's the one that wormhole sent into our world. Don't worry, she's not dangerous. I can see it in her eyes. But she is lost and confused, and without our help, she may be stuck here forever."_

He looked back to Fluttershy, a concerned look in his eyes. SHE'S the one Mystery's wormhole machine sent into this world? With a heavy heart, he looked back to the note and kept reading.

 _"I'm afraid she knows nothing about how things are in Toontown, or our way of life. She doesn't even know about the Cogs yet. She is really a young Pony from another world. I trust you know what I'm talking about, correct? I used my power to turn her into a Toon and gave her basic knowledge of how to use her new body, but that's the extent of what she knows at this moment. I gave her the basic tools of our trade, and I trust your brother will be able to show her the ropes from there. I expect you will be lending a hand as well. After all, wasn't it you who sent her here in the first place?"_

He figured this whole mess she was in was his fault. After all, he WAS the one who activated the machine and failed to shut it down in time. With a fresh pang of guilt, he read the last part of the note.

 _"I want you and your brother to bring her to my sanctuary tomorrow morning. There we can discuss a possible way of getting her home. In the meantime, make sure to keep her out of trouble. Don't let Mystery get ahold of her, and make sure nobody finds out she's really from another world. I don't want any more trouble to start up."_

 _"P.S. I'm going to send a letter to Dusty to warn him as well. Good luck, Snappy!"_

When he had finished, he slowly lowered the note to his side and looked back at Fluttershy, who was currently watching him out of the corner of her eye. She looked like she had been watching him the entire time he had been reading Melody's note.

"Oh no... you're the one that stupid wormhole machine sent here?" Snappy asked, feeling guilt wash over him once again.

Fluttershy just nodded, once again looking back at the white flower. She didn't like where this was going.

Snappy let out an upset sigh, and turned to walk away from her, causing her to look over in his direction. She watched as he slammed his empty fist into a nearby tree and let out a frustrated groan.

"Darn it all... it wasn't bad enough that I killed someone, now you're stuck here, all on account of me!" Snappy exclaimed furiously, before letting an exasperated sigh. "This stinks. I'm a terrible sidekick. I should have let my brother go it alone. All I did was get in his way and mess everything up."

There was something in Snappy's distressed tone, his clear as day disappointment with himself, that made Fluttershy give him a sad look. In spite of her shyness, she felt her love for animals and her kindness kick in, and she quietly walked over and got his attention.

"Please don't be upset. It's not all your fault." She began, only for him to interrupt her with another miserable sigh.

"It is. My brother trusted me, all of Toontown trusted me, and I screwed up. Big time. Now the entire town is furious at me. How am I supposed to make up for this?" He exclaimed, throwing his hands up into the air.

Fluttershy gave a wounded look, her ears drooping slightly, before stepping closer, clutching both hands together in a nervous sort of way.

"Please calm down. You're not entirely to blame. Who built that terrible machine that sent me here in the first place? If that thing had never existed, none of this would have happened." Fluttershy silently explained, hoping he would understand and calm down a little.

Snappy let out a low sigh and turned to Fluttershy.

"I have to admit, you do have a point. That Mystery is nothing but a menace to this place, and he just seems to keep coming back, no matter how hard me and my brother beat him." Snappy admitted, remembering the many times in the past where the two brothers had faced Mystery in battle to defend Toontown.

However, the rest of Toontown didn't see it that way.

"But that still doesn't change the fact the entire town is furious at me. I have no idea how I'm going to fix this mess." He exclaimed sadly, still remembering the wild chase he had to evade in order to get here. And with the fresh batch of chaos he had just caused in order to find Fluttershy, what insanity would be waiting for him when he got back?

Fluttershy just put a reassuring hand on his shoulder and smiled.

"Don't worry about that. You'll get your chance to redeem yourself. Everyone does in the end." She told him, with a hint of encouragement in her tone.

Snappy let out a chuckle, and then turned to face her.

"It's Fluttershy, isn't it?" He asked, to which she nodded. He then let out another chuckle. "Thanks. You're probably the only one in this entire town, besides my siblings and Melody, who hasn't jumped me over my mistake."

"I'm glad I could help." Fluttershy said happily. It always made her glad to brighten someone's day. After all, she was supposed to represent the element of kindness, wasn't she?

Snappy then brought himself back to his senses, and took a quick look around the area. He suddenly realized that weren't far from Bossbot Headquarters. How long ago had it been since Fluttershy had been sent here?

"I think we should get moving. I hate being out here in the forest longer then I need too. It can get pretty dangerous out here." Snappy warned, eyeing the surrounding trees like a watchful hawk.

Fluttershy gave him a confused look.

"Danger? What kind of danger?" She asked, unsure about whether or not she wanted to hear the answer.

Snappy looked back at her and gave her a grim expression.

"So Melody never told you about the cogs." He said, earning another confused look from Fluttershy. She simply shook her head.

 _"I guess she hasn't the time to go into every single detail these days, it seems."_ He thought to himself.

"Um, if it isn't too much trouble, what are the cogs, anyway...?" Fluttershy asked. Now suddenly wishing she hadn't asked.

"Oh boy, where to start?" Snappy wondered, still watching the nearby area, as he began to lead Fluttershy toward Toontown. They were a considerable distance out.

"The Cogs are minions of Mystery; created by him to do his dirty work all across Toontown. They're heartless, soulless, robotic monsters that listen to his every command without question. And they have a thing for hurting us Toons." Snappy explained, earning a gasp of shock from Fluttershy.

"Hurting you? Oh my goodness, that sounds terrible." She exclaimed, not wanting to believe what he was saying.

Snappy just let out a sigh as they continued walking.

"Yep. They've been around for as long as I can remember. We've been fighting for years to put an end to them, but it hasn't been easy. They seem to love targeting weaker, younger Toons who haven't developed their abilities." Snappy went on, sighing sadly once again. Clearly, this was not a cheerful topic for him. "We're at war with them, and until we've put an end to them, every last Toon in Toontown is in danger. Even the older and more experienced ones, like my brother-"

Fluttershy then gasped, interrupting Snappy. She had heard something that sounded distinctly like someone stepping on a twig not far from their location. She whipped around and looked out into the trees where the sound had come from.

"Snappy, there's something out there!" She exclaimed, pointing into the forest.

Snappy stepped in front of her, cream pie cannon in hand, and aimed it into the thick forest.

"We better get out of here, before there's trouble. Think you can follow me back to Toontown?" He asked her, watching the spot where she had pointed carefully. If something was in there, he was ready for it. But with Fluttershy around, he'd rather bolt and get her to safety then fight and risk her getting hurt.

And he knew full well that his portable hole wouldn't work outside of the Toontown city limits, so he wasn't even going to try that approach to getting her to safety; What if they both ended up in another town someplace? Dusty would have no idea where to look for them!

"I... I think so." She answered, hiding behind him and peeking out into the forest herself. She really wanted to get away from here.

"Good. Follow me." He instructed, before turning and heading off in the direction of Toontown, Fluttershy hot on his heels. He was ready to get out of this forest, and back to more familiar territory.

However, they had both failed to notice Mildew, who had been hiding up in a tall tree nearby. She had been using a directional microphone and a tape recorder to listen in on Snappy and Fluttershy's conversation. She looked troubled by the pair's departure.

"Hmm... I got to tell Mystery about this." She muttered to herself, before skillfully climbing down from the tree and sprinting her way through the forest to Bossbot headquarters.

* * *

 ** _\- Some time later -_**

"Ah, there it is. Just over this next hill." Snappy happily exclaimed, putting away his cream pie cannon. The two had been walking through the forest for the past forty minutes.

Fluttershy gasped when she saw the huge town below.

She and Snappy were currently on the side of the mountain that overlooked the ToonFest Grounds. Snappy could see Riggy Marole down below playing with a couple of Doodles. Either playing or chasing them around trying to get his favorite bowtie back. But that wasn't what Fluttershy was looking at.

Her attention was on the large town not far away. _Toontown._

She couldn't describe, even if she tried her best, the number of different places she could see from where she was. Not far away, there was the ocean, the beautiful, sparkling blue ocean, with a neighborhood sitting right on the edge of it. Across the town from there, there was a beautiful, gigantic garden neighborhood. She wanted to see what that place was like as soon as she could. North of that was what appeared to be a raceway, with several different racing tracks. There appeared to be a race in progress in one of the stadium tracks, for it was crowded with Toons. Further north from there, was a neighborhood entirely cast in the dark of night, with what appeared to be a giant bed in its central area. Near that, there was a musical paradise for a neighborhood. Close to there, and just north of the oceanside neighborhood, there was another neighborhood situated next to a series of small, snow-covered hills. The entire place looked like a giant snow globe, despite the fair weather everywhere else in the town. Nearest to where they were was a large open park area with a gazebo.

The entire town looked cartoony and full of vibrant colors, and life. But it was the center of the town that stood out from the rest. It wasn't centered on the ocean, night time, an icy hill, or a giant garden. Instead, it had no real overall theme at all... which made it stand out like a sore thumb compared to everywhere else in the town.

All in all, it looked like quite a nice place. It wasn't exactly Ponyville, but at least it looked bright, cheerful and welcoming.

"Donald's Dock..." Snappy recited, pointing to each and every area of the town as he went. "...Daisy Gardens, Goofy Speedway, Donald's Dreamland, Minnie's Melodyland, The Brrrgh, Chip and Dale's Acorn Acres, and of course Toontown Central in the middle of it all."

Fluttershy just looked out again at the massive town. There was so much to see. So much to do. She almost felt overwhelmed by the sheer size and scope of it all.

"Um, how did all these places get their names?" Fluttershy asked. Snappy just shrugged at her.

"No clue. Nobody remembers anymore." Snappy answered, putting a hand to his chin. How DID the various neighborhoods of Toontown get their names, anyway? He had never heard of anyone named Mickey, Goofy, or Donald. But he decided not to puzzle over it any further beyond that. The neighborhoods were due to be renamed someday soon, anyway, so it hardly mattered.

"It looks so... cheerful from here." Fluttershy commented. Despite her uncertainty with being in a strange world she had never heard of or seen before, she couldn't hold back her curiosity in wanted to see this place up close.

Besides, it's not like she had anywhere else to go for the time being. She might as well look around and take in the sights.

"I'm glad you think so." Snappy said, looking out over the town himself. He had seen this same view a hundred times in the past... but he always enjoyed coming out here to see it time and again. It was a nice, subtle reminder of more peaceful times, before the Cogs came along.

Speaking of the Cogs, Snappy was just about to ask how her world was, and how it compared to Toontown, when the distant sound of propellers caught his attention. Letting out a gasp, he turned sharply on the spot, grabbing his cream pie cannon in the process.

Fluttershy heard the propeller sound, too, and she also turned to see what was happening.

Four dark-suited beings were currently flying out of the distant forest and over a nearby mountainside. They were too far away for Fluttershy to make out clearly, but she could somehow tell, by the dread she suddenly had in her heart, that they were trouble.

"Cogs!" Snappy suddenly exclaimed, before turning around and grabbing Fluttershy's hand with his left hand, keeping a firm grip on the cream pie cannon with his right. "Quick, hide!"

He quickly pulled her toward a large group of tall bushes. Wasting no time, he jumped behind them, bringing Fluttershy with him.

"Yikes!" She exclaimed upon landing on the other side of the bushes. She hadn't been expecting Snappy to up and carry her away like that.

"Shh!" Snappy shushed, putting both hands on the cream pie cannon and peeking out from behind the bushes. He somehow knew this wasn't going to end smoothly.

Fluttershy also peeked out of the bushes, being careful to remain hidden. What she saw made her eyes widen.

The four dark-suited figures, which, true to Snappy prediction, ended up being Cogs, landed quietly on the ground not far from the bushes where she and Snappy were hiding. Fluttershy watched as their propellers disappeared into their heads. They were all wearing fancy, brown colored suits and black shoes, along with fancy ties that would have put any Pony in Canterlot to shame.

One of them, the tallest of the bunch, looked very muscular, and had a huge, triangle-shaped piece of cheese for a head. Fluttershy didn't know whether to be scared for her life or hungry for some cheese at the sight of it.

The one next to him was tall, round and pudgy. He had a pirates eyepatch and a bandana on, and at that moment, he was wearing a very scary gruff look on his face. He looked a lot like a pirate. Fluttershy deeply hoped he wasn't as mean or as cruel as he looked.

The next one down was slightly shorter than the other two, and had a miniature head with a full head of black hair-like stuff Fluttershy couldn't identify. He had a very disturbing face that made her want to look away. He was also pretty muscular.

The last of the four was the shortest, though he was only slightly shorter than the other three. He had a long, thin, green head and a full head of black hair as well, as well as a black bowler hat. He was by far the skinniest of the four. But he disturbed Fluttershy to look at nonetheless.

The four robots looked around the surrounding area. Clearly, they were on the hunt for something. And Snappy had a sneaking suspicion what it was.

Snappy and Fluttershy remained hidden behind the bushes for a good thirty seconds, carefully watching the four Cogs as they searched the surrounding area. Thankfully, none of them approached the bushes where Snappy and Fluttershy were hiding.

One of them whipped around to look into the forest.

"I think I saw something over here." The shortest of the bunch with the bowler hat called out to his companions, and pointing toward the forest.

The large, fat cog and the cog with the tiny head were currently searching elsewhere, and didn't seem to hear him. The one with the cheese head turned to look at him.

"Have you checked over there?" The cheese headed cog asked. The shorter one looked at him and shook his head.

"Not yet, sir." He responded.

"Well, get over there and check it out, then!" The Cog with the cheese head ordered, before turning around and heading back towards the other two.

"Right away, sir!" The shorter one replied, saluting his superior, before turning on the spot and proceeding toward the forest. Now was Snappy and Fluttershy's chance to slip away.

Snappy looked over at Fluttershy, who was now looking over at him, and gestured toward the town.

"Go!" He whispered, turning back to watch the four Cogs.

She nodded, and with a gulp of fright, proceeded to sneak away toward the town, Snappy right behind her. With any luck, they'd be able to get away without having to engage in any violence.

And as for whatever these cogs had in mind for the two... they weren't sticking around to find out.

They were almost out of eyesight, almost home free, when...

 _SNAP!_

"What was that?" The large, fat cog with the eyepatch asked.

Snappy gasped and looked down. He had stepped on a twig, startling himself and Fluttershy, who simply looked at him with wide eyes.

Snappy sighed, his upper eye lids narrowing slightly, as the four cogs turned and shouted in their direction.

"Well, shoot." Snappy exclaimed, and without a second thought, he grabbed Fluttershy by the hand once again, and bolted toward Toontown.

"THERE THEY ARE! GET THEM!" The cog with the cheese head shouted, getting the attention of his three companions.

Snappy could hear the sound of their propellers starting up again as he and Fluttershy sprinted through the trees as fast as they could.

 _"If only I can get close enough to the town to use my portable hole."_ Snappy thought to himself, hoping beyond hope that he could get Fluttershy to safety before the cogs could catch up to them. With no gags and no laff meter, she was in no condition to take on four of the strongest Bossbots in town. Especially the Big Cheese!

"Argh! No!" Snappy suddenly exclaimed, skidding to a halt on the spot. Fluttershy did the same, before observing the surroundings.

The trees were making a tight, enclosed horseshoe shape all around them. They had nowhere left to run. It was a dead end!

"Uh, Snappy? What do we do now?" Fluttershy asked, clearly terrified of what was going to happen next. She didn't know what the cogs wanted with her, and she really, really didn't want to find out.

Snappy peered around and spotted a tall, lone bush near a few of the trees.

The cogs propellers sounded like they were getting closer.

As quick as can be, Snappy leaded Fluttershy over to the bush and pulled her behind it.

"No matter what happens, stay hidden!" Snappy instructed, before turning around and running back to the middle of the enclosure.

Fluttershy, who had no idea what he was up to, had fear in her eyes as she watched him go.

"Wait, no! What are you doing!?" She half asked/half whispered, clutching both hands to her chest. But she stayed behind the bush all the same.

Snappy pulled out his cream pie cannon and stood ready. He knew this was going to be a harsh battle.

The four cogs suddenly appeared through the trees and landed no further than twenty feet from where Snappy stood. They all laughed in a very wicked way upon seeing him.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the town fool that blew up our bosses' machine last night." The cog with the bowler hat joked, sneering at Snappy in a way that made Fluttershy's hair stand on end.

"Where's your little cream colored friend? Our boss wants a word with her." The cheese headed cog asked, taking a look around, but not seeing the other Toon anywhere.

Snappy stood his ground, cream pie cannon pointed directly at the cogs, a look of utter contempt on his face.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He spat, a finger on the trigger.

The four cogs all looked at him and growled.

"Ooh, not very friendly, I see." The one with the eyepatch noted, before pulling out a tin can from his back pocket. The other three had pulled out other objects, and had suddenly taken fighting stances.

"I, for one, am going to enjoy doing this to you!" The cog with the cheese head stated, shortly before firing daggers at Snappy from his eyes. Luckily, the blue dog was able to dodge it.

Fluttershy watched, both out of fear for Snappy and out of simply being unable to look away, as he bravely battled the four cogs, dodging attacks as best he could and firing pies from his cannon.

"Arrrrrgh!" One of them, the one with the bowler hat shouted, as several pies hit him directly in the face, causing him to fall to the ground and explode.

The other three snarled with rage.

"DESTROY HIM!" The cog with the cheese head screamed, shortly before ducking and dive-rolling away as more pies flew in his direction.

A few restless moments later, Snappy had pelted both the one with the tiny head and the one with the eyepatch with pies as well, and they both exploded. Fluttershy silently cheered from her hiding place.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Snappy looked around the nearby area. The Big Cheese had disappeared from sight.

"Coward!" Snappy shouted into the forest, trying to taunt the big cheese into coming out of hiding. "What's the matter, had enough?"

The answer to that question came when Snappy suddenly felt something slam into him from his left. It felt as if a race kart had hit him at full speed. He yelled in agony before tumbling into the ground.

Fluttershy gasped loudly, and had to cover her mouth with both hands to prevent herself from screaming.

Snappy looked up, spotted the Big Cheese approaching, and quickly jumped to his feet, aiming the cannon directly at the big cog.

The Big Cheese simply chuckled, before holding up something that made Snappy gasp, and his eyes widen.

His last cream pie. The Big Cheese must have taken it out of Snappy's cannon when he slammed into him. Now what was he going to do?

"Oh, tough break, kid." The large cog chuckled, before tossing the pie aside, which landed right side up near Fluttershy's hiding place.

Snappy lowered the cannon and backed away, trying to reach for a gag in his gag pouch. But the cog wasn't having any of it. With the speed of an enraged panther, the cog lunged at Snappy and grabbed both of his arms.

"Hey! Let me go! Let me go!" Snappy shouted, struggling to break free. But it was no good. The cog was too strong.

"Ah, how upsetting. Not only are you despised by the entire town, now you're going to DIE despised by the entire town." The Big Cheese stated, laughing evilly, before pulling out a golf club from his back pocket, to finish off the blue canine.

Snappy looked up at the golf club, let out a low gasp, and closed both eyes tightly. Was this the end for him?

Fluttershy gasped again. She had to do something! She couldn't just sit there and watch Snappy die! What would she do then?

She made to step out of her hiding place, but stopped when she felt her foot bump something on the ground. She looked down to see what it was.

It was the cream pie that the cog had taken from Snappy's cannon. It was still sitting on the ground, fully intact.

Fluttershy looked first at the cog, who was struggling to hold Snappy still, and then to the pie. And then something flashed through her mind.

She remembered seeing her friend Pinkie Pie throwing cakes at Spike, when he was growing to a monstrous size as a result of taking everything he could get his claws on in Ponyville. It hadn't been very effective on him, but what about this cog? They didn't seem to like those pies very much.

Did Fluttershy really have any choice about what else she could do? She had to act fast, and she had to act now.

And right there and then, Fluttershy knew what to do. With a hard look on her face, she grabbed the pie and jumped out from behind the bush.

"Leave him alone, you big bully!" Fluttershy shouted, getting the cogs attention, before throwing the pie directly at the cog with all her strength.

"What the-!?" The Big Cheese exclaimed, but he had no time to finish his sentence. He felt the pie hit him in the face with the force of a wild dodgeball.

Snappy was finally able to wrestle free from his grasp and quickly dove for cover, as the large cog dropped the golf club and collapsed into the grass. A second later, he exploded.

Fluttershy slowly walked up to Snappy as he stood up and dusted himself off.

"Did I... did I kill him...?" Fluttershy asked silently, looking down at the small pile of scrap metal and ruined parts that, only a minute ago, was getting ready to finish off Snappy.

Snappy wiped the sweat off his brow once again, before putting a hand on Fluttershy's shoulder.

"Wow. I thought that was it for me. How did you know how to do that?" Snappy asked, still in disbelief over what had just happened.

"Um, I saw a friend of mine do something like that once." Fluttershy answered, still looking down at the pile of smoking metal.

"Well, you saved my tail for sure with that pie. Thanks." He said, giving her a wink and a thumbs up.

Fluttershy just giggled, feeling her face grow hot, and looked away. Sure, she didn't like attention, given her shy nature, but she did like being praised for a job well done.

And she had to admit, it felt good helping out for a change.

However, this tender moment was soon interrupted by the sound of more approaching propellers. And it sounded like a lot of them. No doubt their battle had drawn attention from the not-so-far-away Bossbot headquarters.

The two gasped and looked at each other in alarm.

"Let's get out of here, shall we?" Snappy asked, to which Fluttershy simply nodded. After this encounter with the cogs, she was ready to get out of here. And hopefully never look back.

The two quickly made their way out of the enclosure, being careful not to trip on any of the piles of scrap metal, and hurried away from the spot.

After a couple of minutes of nonstop running, Snappy threw out a hand to stop Fluttershy. She was just about to ask what they were doing when Snappy pulled out what appeared to be a small black hole the size of his palm from his back pocket.

"We should be close enough we can just use this to teleport to the town." Snappy explained, throwing the hole on the ground, which then enlarged itself to roughly the size of a drum set. It was big enough for both Snappy and Fluttershy to jump in.

"What's that?" Fluttershy asked, looking at the black hole with a curious look on her face. Like many things in this world, she had never seen something like it before in her life.

"A portable hole. Every Toon in town has one. It's how we get around." Snappy explained, before taking a step closer to the hole. "I set it to teleport us to Toontown Central. You'll be much safer there."

Fluttershy looked up at Snappy with a confused look on her face. How was THIS thing supposed to teleport them anywhere?

"After you. It'll close up as soon as I jump in, so you have to go first." Snappy said, pulling her closer to the hole. "Don't worry; I'll be right behind you."

Fluttershy looked down at the hole, let out a low breath to reassure herself, and with her eyes closed, leaped into the hole. Snappy hopped in directly after her, and the hole quietly closed behind them.

* * *

Dusty Bumblejinks and all associated characters are owned and copyright by Bulldozer Studios.

Fluttershy, My Little Pony and all associated characters are owned and copyright by Hasbro.

Toontown and all associated characters, including the cogs, are owned and copyright by The Walt Disney Company.


	5. 4 Enter Toontown

"Woah!"

Fluttershy let out a loud exclamation as Snappy's portable hole opened in Toontown Central. She hopped out of the hole and stood aside, trying to get her footing, as Snappy popped out right behind her. A second later, the hole disappeared.

She wasn't sure if she liked portable hole travel. Sure, it got them where they needed to go in relative seconds, but it felt like she was falling through a deep, dark hole the entire time. Which, in retrospect, she probably was.

"Ah, home sweet home. I can never get enough of it." Snappy said, taking a deep breath of air. Clearly he seemed to like this place.

After taking a moment to get her bearings, Fluttershy realized they were behind a tall green hedge. Looking around, she noticed a small schoolhouse nearby, and next to it, a small colorful tunnel that looked like it lead to somewhere party-related. It even had a large party hat over the entrance. Fluttershy giggled upon seeing it, knowing Pinkie Pie would love to have seen this. A couple of Toons were on either side of this entrance, gazing at their clipboards and muttering nonstop under their voices.

Not far away, there was a tall stone tunnel with the words "Silly Street" over it. Judging from the picture below these words, she guessed it went toward that Daisy Gardens place she had seen earlier. She kind of wanted to go check that place out, but she knew there were more important things going on at the moment.

This didn't stop a couple of questions from tumbling out of her mouth, though.

"So, where are we now?" She asked, causing Snappy to smile at her.

"The Toontown Central Playground. Every neighborhood has a playground at its heart. It's pretty much a safe zone where no cogs can attack us, and where we can just hang out and whatnot." Snappy explained, before peeking over his shoulder and gazing around like a watchful hawk. He didn't want to be seen in Toontown Central right now, out of fear another angry mob might begin chasing him.

Despite this, however, he felt that now was the perfect time for Fluttershy to have a look at the rest of the playground.

"Let's go take a look. Over here." Snappy said, pointing past the tunnel and over to a large open area not far away. Fluttershy raised an eyebrow.

"You mean, there's more?" She asked curiously. Snappy nodded to her, and together they walked along the hedge, past an opening in said hedge, through which Fluttershy could clearly see the back of a very large building, and along another stretch of hedge, which turned a corner and stopped at a massive potted plant atop a pedestal.

Fluttershy felt her eyes widen when she saw what was around this corner. From where they were standing, she could see a large gazebo overlooking a small pond where several Toons were fishing on small docks. There was a small shop nearby that had the large, orange words "Goofy's Gag Shop" over the door. There was an overhang with a giant hole in it nearby the door, with a large grand piano smashed halfway into the ground directly underneath it. She figured the piano had fallen through the overhang, ruining it. It made her giggle for some reason. Suspended over the same overhang, by a large rope, was an opened, empty safe.

Right next to this shop was, what appeared to be, a small single-compartment train. She could see a couple of Toons board it, and a few seconds later, it rolled away into a dark tunnel and out of sight. A couple of seconds later, a similar-looking vehicle pulled to a stop in place of the first one. Fluttershy raised an eyebrow at the strange vehicle, for it had no driver or driving compartment of any description that she could see.

In-between two more stone tunnels, which lead to "Loopy Lane" and "Punchline Place", there was a shop that was shaped like a giant fire hydrant, something Fluttershy had only seen very briefly in a book Twilight Sparkle owned about a year ago, and a couple of time in Manehatten. She never thought she'd live to see one this big in her life. Judging from the pictures in the windows, which showed Toons playing with strange-looking jellybean-like creatures in a similar manner to a pet, she guessed it was some kind of pet shop. She wanted to go have a closer look, but ultimately decided against it.

Taking a few, careful steps further past the corner in the hedge, she spotted another building nearby up a set of yellow-tiled stairs. This one had a firefighters helmet on top of it, with the words "Fire Chief" written on the front of the helmet. There was something rising up out of the top of the helmet, which looked strikingly like one of those radio tower things she had seen adorning the top of some of the buildings in Manehatten. A long white banner was strung up over the front doors which read "Head Quarters" in dark grey letters. She had the feeling this building was very important.

Snappy, who was watching as Fluttershy looked around the playground with both curiosity and wonder in her eyes, stepped up behind her and took out his Shticker Book. While he was looking for a specific page, Fluttershy wandered away to go see the rest of the playground.

Near the building with the firefighters hat on it, there were three more buildings, all of which towered over the other structures in the playground. A large green one, which sat next to the "Head Quarters", had the word "Bank" on the front of it. Across the way from it was another tall building, this one yellow in color, with the words "Toontown Library" atop it. Fluttershy knew Twilight Sparkle would want to check that place out in a heartbeat.

And at the far end of the playground, in-between both these buildings, was a grand-looking, tall structure with the words "Toon Hall" on the front of it. She could already tell that this building was the "Town Hall" of Toontown. It must have been where the mayor resided. She was sure she would be visiting that place at least once.

Walking further on, and past another tall hedge, which also started at another potted plant atop a pedestal and turned a corner, she could see a couple of more structures. There was another tunnel in the shape of a tire which lead to "Goofy Speedway", and not far from that was a clothing shop. She knew that Rarity would want to check that place out right away if she ever came here.

She turned and looked out over the rest of the playground. There were Toons of all kinds running around, looking happy and cheerful as Pinkie Pie. There were a few dogs and cats like Snappy and herself, but there were at least seven other kinds of Toons she could see. There were pigs, donkeys, mice, monkeys, rabbits, ducks and bears. She noticed they were all of various heights, had fur of many different colors, so many in fact, Fluttershy couldn't count them all, and all wore different clothing. She could see that some of them, no doubt girls, were wearing dresses like her.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The air was so clean and refreshing here. And the light, gentle breeze going past helped to put her mind at ease, even if only for a moment.

Overall, she liked it here. It wasn't Ponyville by a long shot, but at least she wasn't out in the middle of the forest with a mob of robots chasing her.

"Hey, Fluttershy! Come over here!" Snappy called to her.

She turned around and saw him hiding behind the opposite hedge, waving her over to where he was hiding.

She started to approach Snappy's position, but stopped when she heard a commotion nearby. She turned around and looked. A small group of Toons had gathered near the gazebo. They were all tightly bunched together and whispering to one another under their breath. But Fluttershy was able to hear them just fine.

"So, is it all clear, then?" One of the Toons, a bright red mouse, whispered to his companions.

"Yep. I already sent the letter on its way. Those Bumblejinks' won't know what hit them!" A dark green rabbit responded, smirking happily. "Let's see how they handle having an angry mob of Toons right at their front doorstep AND a war party of the strongest cogs in town showing up to spoil the party! It's going to be one heck of a night!"

The rest of the Toons all grinned, looking from one to the other with pleased expressions on their faces.

"So, we let the cogs go in and cause as much mayhem as they can, then we step in and pick up the pieces. And have it out with that Snappy guy once and for all." A blue cat recalled to his companions, who all nodded their heads.

"Yep. With any luck, his brother will be too busy fending off both the mob and the cogs to notice us. We can slip in, grab Snappy, and get ou-" One of them, a purple bear, began to say, before looking up and spotting Fluttershy, who gasped when she noticed him looking at her. The rest of his companions all looked over and saw her, their eyes widening.

Fluttershy felt her face grow hot, and shot a sideways glance at Snappy, as if telling him "Help me!", before looking back at the group of Toons. She didn't know why, but something about these Toons in particular put a sense of dread in her heart. Maybe it was their white, sleeveless shirts covered with thick, long-sleeved black jackets, which had a picture of a smoke cloud with a red cross through it. Maybe it was the fact all four were wearing bandanas and black, fingerless gloves like Snappy's gloves. She had no idea.

Snappy peeked out from his hiding place and took a look. He sighed in frustration when he saw who it was.

"Darn it all... it's the Smog Smashers!" He muttered under his breath, watching them all turn around to face Fluttershy as she slowly backed up the tiled stairs.

The Smog Smashers were a very famous splinter group who loved to travel the Tooniverse, saving people from cogs or anything they deemed to be a threat to Toonkind, though it was always at a heavily inflated price. And they had a bad habit of getting on Toons nerves and getting into fights, which had earned them a rather shaky reputation in Toontown. The Toontown Police had attempted to capture them multiple times in the past, but always came up short for one reason or another. Their names were pretty much unknown.

And though nobody would say it out loud without slamming their fist into the nearest door or wall in frustration, they were known to be very abusive toward girls. Especially girl cats. They had also gotten in deep trouble multiple times for stealing. Snappy recalled several times where his brother had put them in their place for abusive behavior toward other Toons. But for one reason or another, they never seemed to learn their lesson.

"Well, well, well, looks like there's a new Toon in town." The cat commented, taking a second to look over Fluttershy. His attention was mainly on her golden scarf that she was wearing. "And I must say what a sight she is."

The red mouse stepped up next to him, clicking his tongue.

"Oooo... I second that emotion." He said to his friend. The other two stepped up next to them.

"I say, is that scarf she's wearing made of gold?" The purple bear asked, eyeing Fluttershy's golden scarf. She gasped, stopped dead in her tracks, and put a hand over it, as if attempting to block it out of view.

But the others had seen it, and she could tell from the malicious looks in their eyes that they had made up their minds.

"Well, it would be a shame to see a beautiful item like that be wasted on such a fine looking Toon, don't you agree, boys?" The cat asked, cracking his knuckles as if preparing for a fight. The rest all nodded in agreement, before cracking their knuckles as well.

Fluttershy, her eyes wide with terror, began to back away once again. Whatever these thugs had in store for her, she wasn't going to stick around and find out.

And she knew better then to try and use "The Stare" on them. She had no idea if it worked on creatures in this world, which were very much different than anything she had ever encountered before. And this was NOT a good time to try and find out.

Snappy, sensing her distress, narrowed his eyes at the four, before pulling out what appeared to be a regular quicksand gag. However, this one was an experimental, non-lethal version that Snappy had developed after researching the real quicksand gag. It was specially designed to trap the target in sticky, blue goo for an extended period of time. He borrowed the idea from Sticky Lou, after hearing that he had gotten stuck in his own blue glue once again.

He had tested it before on some unsuspecting cogs, but now here he was trying to use it on four fellow Toons. Would it work?

He had no time to ponder this any longer; The four brutes were now making their way toward Fluttershy, who had tried to turn and run, but tripped and fell to the ground with a "Oof!". Sensing easy prey, the four quickly advanced on her.

Fluttershy gasped, trying to get to her feet, but she knew it was no use; the thugs would be upon her in seconds. She simply closed her eyes, bracing herself for what she knew was coming.

Snappy took dead aim with the gag and, with fingers crossed, pushed the button.

"Hey!"

"What the-"

"Ugh! I'm stuck!"

"Where the heck did this blue crud come from!?"

Snappy sighed with relief. The modified gag had worked, and the four Smog Smashers were stuck in the blue goo. They all yelled and roared and wrestled to get free, but it was no good; the sticky substance was too strong for them.

Fluttershy wasted no time in getting to her feet and dashing away toward Snappy, who quickly took her hand and proceeded to lead her away to somewhere else. Snappy was deeply hoping that blue goo would hold the Smog Smashers long enough for the two to get away.

However, the Smog Smashers had seen her leave. And when the cat of the bunch saw who she was with, he yelled and pointed at the pair, alerting every other Toon in the playground, who had all stopped to see what was going on.

"THERE! It's Snappy Bumblejinks! He's getting away! He's getting away!" The cat screamed. The Toons all gasped and looked over to the tunnel to Silly Street, and sure enough, there was Snappy attempting to lead Fluttershy away. He looked back, saw everyone else looking at him, and sighed.

"Well, here we go again." He muttered, before turning and taking off into the tunnel at full-speed, with a now startled Fluttershy in tow.

"AFTER HIM!" One of the Toons in the playground shouted. And sure enough, a small angry mob was formed, and they began to pursue Snappy.

The Smog Smashers all laughed in a wicked way, praising themselves for having stirred up so much confusion. That is, until the bear spoke up.

"You do know what'll happen if they don't find Snappy and come back here, right? We're wanted Toons, you know!" He told the cat, who looked over and gave him a blank expression.

The others were giving him similar blank expressions.

"Well, don't just stand there, stupid!" The cat complained, handing the bear a hacksaw. "You're the strongest of the group! Get us out of here!"

The bear sighed, regretting ever bringing up such a silly topic, and began to saw his way through the thick goo. This was going to take a while...

Upon exiting the tunnel, Snappy dashed down the street as fast as he could, nearly bowling over a wandering Flunky in the process, all the while pulling Fluttershy along behind him. He could hear that she was panting heavily, no doubt a result of all the running she had done today. They needed to get to safety.

A lightbulb suddenly went off in his head. His portable hole! He could just teleport back to the Bumblejinks estate! Rounding another corner, he quickly pulled out his portable hole and threw it on the ground.

"Inside, quick!" He instructed Fluttershy, who had sweat dripping down her face, before stepping over to peek around the corner.

He gasped when he saw what was back up the street. The angry mob was coming!

Fluttershy, after letting off a breath to calm herself and closing her eyes, once again jumped into the hole. It was definitely not her favorite way to travel. Oh, how she missed having her wings.

Snappy, after seeing her jump into the hole, quickly stepped over and hopped in himself. The hole closed and disappeared just as the mob was rounding the corner. They hadn't seen it close, though, and kept going down the street.

* * *

 ** _\- Bossbot Headquarters -_**

"So, that little Pony girl was the one my machine sent into this world." Mystery said to Mildew, an ice pack on his forehead, as he and a bunch of cogs worked to clean up his lab. Ever since he got hit by Snappy's hammer, he had been nursing the mother of all headaches.

Mildew nodded to him, setting down her clipboard and tossing a piece of scrap metal into a nearby dustbin.

"Yes. Snappy accidently activated the machine, and then when he tricked me into destroying the controls, it went haywire." Mildew explained, wiping the sweat and oil from her brow. "The Bros. blew it up afterwards, but it succeeded in doing its job. Only, it wasn't a terrible monster that it brought here."

Mystery was half-and-half about this situation. He was glad his machine had worked in the end, but was upset that it hadn't brought a terrible, giant monster to destroy Toontown. Instead, it had brought an innocent young girl who, from the photo Mystery was holding of Fluttershy in her Pony form, looked as if she couldn't harm a fly.

"Argh... I set that stupid machine to find a monster, not a miniature horse! And why in the world did it dump her in the middle of the forest!?" Mystery exclaimed in fury, slamming the photo onto a desk nearby and grabbing his head. It felt as if a giant gong was pounding away inside his head.

Mildew looked down at her clipboard again.

"My guess is the machine thought she counted as a terrible monster, considering the amazing and powerful things she and her friends can do when they're together. Plus, her world is full of devious villains that rival even yourself. Though why it picked HER, of all the creatures in her world, I have no idea." Mildew told Mystery, a finger on her chin, as she pursed over the clipboard and shook her head slightly. "As for her ending up in the forest, I'm assuming the machine succeeded in sending her here, but because it was destroyed before it could bring her into the lab, it instead dumped her in the forest so she wouldn't be trapped in the void between worlds. If that makes any sense. Either that, or Snappy or myself accidently changed the coordinates for the machine while it was teleporting the girl. I spotted a bright flash out in the forest, which I assume was her being teleported, and sent out some Bossbots to investigate, but I haven't heard back from any of them. My guess is one of the Bumblejinks Bros. got there first and destroyed them."

Mystery nodded to her, having taken in every word of her speech, before taking another dose of Ibprofen; His third one that day.

"Oooo, I'm going to get that Snappy Bumblejinks back for this, mark my words..." He grumbled to himself, before turning and addressing Mildew once again. "Tell me, is it true? Has the entire town turned on him?"

Mildew nodded, smiling to Mystery as she walked over.

"Yes, the entire town is furious at him for killing one of the prisoners. He was chased by an angry mob in Donald's Dock about twenty-five minutes ago." She told him, which made him grin.

"Hmm, that could work out to our advantage. And so might that little Pony girl." He mused to himself, sneering in a wicked way, before turning around and heading out of the lab to go and lay down.

"Sir, you're instructions?" Mildew asked, getting the attention of the various cogs in the room. They all wanted to hear his orders.

"Continue working on the lab. I want it ready to go by tonight." He told everyone in the room, continuing on his way to the door. He had to go and rest his head for a while. At least until he could think clearly.

However, before he could reach the door, a Pencil Pusher burst into the room. He had clearly been looking for Mystery, for he approached his boss quickly.

"Sir, a letter for you." The lower level Cog said, handing over a scarlet red envelope. Mystery took it and looked at it suspiciously, unable to make out any of the text as his cyborg eye was currently out of commission, before turning around and waving Mildew over.

"My eye's still offline, you'll have to read it." He instructed her, handing the envelope over to her. She took it and examined it carefully, before opening it and extracting the message it contained.

 _"Sir, this is Number Four. Good news. We've discovered when the Bumblejinks guard will be down. There are rumors flying around town that an angry mob is going to stage a raid on the Bumblejinks estate in order to capture Snappy tonight. Now's the perfect time to strike while the iron is hot! The cogs can sneak in, grab whatever they need, and get out while the Bros. are busy dealing with the mob! We're awaiting your confirmation to begin the operation._

 _P.S. Dusty Bumblejinks foiled your attack on The Brrrgh. The entire attack team was wiped out. We're returning to Sellbot HQ."_

When she had finished, she noticed Mystery had a vile look in his left eye. She could already tell a plan was forming in his mind.

"Hmm... there's been a change in plan, Mildew." Mystery said happily, who had a look of pure evil on his face. "Schedule an urgent meeting in the Executive Office Tower for tonight at nine. Get as many of our higher level cogs as you can." He ordered.

"Yes, sir!" She replied, giving Mystery a salute, same as the Pencil Pusher, as Mystery walked past them and out of the lab. He needed to lie down and sleep off this headache... as well as plan out his next scheme against the Bumblejinks. He had a feeling he was going to enjoy this fine night...

* * *

 ** _\- The Bumblejinks Estate -_**

The portable hole opened up outside of Snappy's house within the Bumblejinks estate. Fluttershy popped out, landed without a scratch on both feet, and quickly stepped aside as Snappy popped out a couple of seconds afterwards. The hole quickly disappeared.

"Wow, that was close." Snappy muttered to himself, letting out another sigh. He had eluded an angry mob once again, and this time he had been able to do it without blowing up half a street, flooding a shop or dropping pianos on unsuspecting Toons. A victory for him, he supposed.

Fluttershy took a moment to look around the area. There were several houses in the place she was now in, all of which looked decently sized and cheerful. They were all different colors. The one they were in front of was the same shade of blue as Snappy, which lead her to believe this was where he lived. There was also a small building not far away that had another radio antenna on top of it. Many of the houses had flower boxes with flowers growing in them, along with tall, green, healthy trees surrounding them.

She felt her eyes widen when she saw what was in these trees. Pies, cupcakes, trapdoors, TNT, seltzer bottles and fire hoses. There was one that even had what appeared to be train tracks growing on it.

She looked in disbelief at the strange trees. What kind of trees were these?

"I see you're interested in those gag trees." Snappy commented, noticing Fluttershy was looking at the trees in the area. She looked over at him and gave him a confused look.

"Gag what?" She asked. She had never heard of something like that before.

Snappy just chuckled.

"Ah, you'll find out later. How about we get inside the little outpost over here?" He suggested, heading over to the small building with the radio antenna on top of it.

Fluttershy gave him another confused look, but followed him nonetheless.

They were just about to step inside, when...

BARK!

A loud bark stopped them in their tracks. They both looked down to see what it was.

There was a bright blue creature sitting on the front doormat. It was shaped like a large jellybean and had two feet that weren't joined to its body. It had a full head of blue hair, a long, blue, fluffy tail, and was bright blue in color. And from the way it was looking at the pair with its tall, oval-shaped eyes as they approached, it was very excited and happy to see them.

"Aww, Waffles. You were waiting here for us the whole time?" Snappy said to the little creature, bending down to scratch it on the chin. The little creature barked again and panted happily as Snappy did so.

Fluttershy felt herself smile. For as much insanity as she had seen today, she had to admit, the little creature was adorable!

"Wow, what is that?" She asked curiously, walking closer to the creature. Snappy laughed as it licked him on the cheek.

"He's a Doodle. They're our pets in this town. They have tons of them over at the pet shops." He explained, standing upright and stepping toward the door. "And boy, do they make excellent pets. They'll even help you out in combat, if you train them."

Fluttershy smiled as she bent down and petted the Doodle on the head. Waffles barked happily and licked her on the cheek in return. She giggled and wiped her cheek with the back of her hand.

"Aww, he's so cute!" She exclaimed happily, as she patted the happy Doodles back, making Snappy smile.

"Just wait until you see Dusty and Melody's Doodles. They're just as cool. But we should get in here before something else happens." He told her, opening the door and disappearing inside the building.

Fluttershy gave the little Doodle one more cheerful look, before standing up and entering the building herself. She made it a priority to play with the little guy some more later. She may as well try to have SOME kind of fun while she was here, to keep her spirits up, if nothing else.

"Here we are." Snappy said, flipping a light switch next to the door. The lights to the building came on at once.

Fluttershy could clearly see this was a very important place they were in. Multiple couches and chairs surrounded a large table in the middle of the room, where several documents lay scattered. A desk and office chair were in the corner of the room, next to a tall filing cabinet. There was a smaller table with a radio sitting atop it on the other end of the room, which Snappy was currently walking towards.

Stepping around the large table and its chairs, Fluttershy looked inside the next room. It looked like some kind of infirmary. There were three beds with small bedside tables next to them, as well as shelves and cabinets full of various medical supplies. The beds looked comfy from where she was standing.

Snappy picked up the radio from the table and clicked a button on it.

"Dusty, are you there?" He spoke into the radio. A second later, his brother's voice came through on the other end.

 _"Yeah, I'm here. Just helping clean up the mess these cogs left behind. How'd things go on your end?"_ Dusty asked. Fluttershy could hear the pair clearly from where she was standing.

"Well, long story short: Mission completed. But there were a couple of, uh... complications." He said, looking over at Fluttershy.

 _"What do you mean complications? I got a letter from Melody about a situation that developed up in the forest, but I'm not sure if it's true or if she's just playing around."_ Dusty asked. Snappy just looked down, lowering the radio for a second, before raising it again.

"It's a long story. And believe me, it's real alright. I'll tell you all about it when you get back here." Snappy told him.

 _"Alright, I got you. We're almost done here, I'll be back in a few of minutes. Just make sure nothing stupid happens, alright?"_ Dusty told his little brother, shortly before the line went dead. Snappy set the radio down on the table and sighed.

Something stupid had happened, alright. And Snappy was still unsure if it was real, or some crazy, wild dream that he was inventing as it went on.

He looked over at Fluttershy and gave her a weak smile. She smiled back, giving him a reassuring nod. Clearly, she didn't mind waiting here for a few minutes. As long as it was safe from those evil cogs, and those brutish Toons she had encountered, she was perfectly fine with staying here.

"Guess we're going to have to wait here for a bit... why don't you go lie down and rest for a bit? I'm sure you're exhausted after everything that's happened." Snappy suggested, turning to walk over to the desk. He needed to have a look at something before Dusty got back.

Fluttershy let out a low yawn. Snappy had a point; she was pretty tired after everything that had happened in such a short span of time. Perhaps now she could relax for a moment.

She turned and walked into the infirmary. She climbed up onto the nearest bed, which was fairly soft and comfortable and sat down. And finally, she allowed herself to calm down and take in the situation.

She was in some strange, foreign world that neither she, nor any of her friends had ever seen or heard of. Nothing she knew or grew up with existed here. And as far as she could tell, all of her friends were still in Ponyville, probably worried to death over what had happened to her. She had no way of letting them know she was alive.

And to top it off, she had been transformed into one of these "Toons", which appeared to be the dominant species of this world. Melody had said this was done so she could blend in more effectively, and avoid raising a ruckus, but she wished Melody had left her wings intact. If there was one thing Fluttershy loved about being a Pegasi, it was her ability to fly to escape from danger. But without it, she felt... strangely powerless. It was as if someone had taken her special talent away, and her cutie mark meant nothing as a result.

Or at the very least, if she still had her cutie mark. But as far as she knew, it was long gone as well.

 _"What they say is true..."_ she thought to herself, looking behind her back as if checking to see if her wings were there, but there was nothing. _"You don't really know what it is you have, until it's gone."_

She sighed sadly once again. No friends, no Elements of Harmony, no wings, no cutie mark, and she only had Melody's word to go by at this point. She truly felt like she had been flung into some crazy, insane nightmare that had stripped her of everything she ever had. Only she couldn't wake up from this nightmare.

But at least she was safe. Even if it was only for the time being, she felt she was safe, and could take some time to formulate a plan on how to get home, without being chased by this and that through the streets like a scared little rabbit.

And she had met up with some allies. Snappy himself seemed to be a very strong Cog fighter, and she could tell that he was genuinely concerned about her wellbeing and the situation she was currently in. But then again, being a sidekick to a superhero, she figured it just came with the job. And if his brother was anything like him, she could tell she was in good hands. At least she wasn't alone.

She raised a hand and lifted up the golden scarf from her neck. The only thing she had to remind her of Equestria, apart from memories of her friends. Back at her house, she had yet to fully take in just how precious this thing was, and how valuable of a gift it was, coming from all of her friends. Now that she was in this strange, alternate world, completely cut off from her friends, it truly felt like her last link to her old home, and she somehow felt that if anything were to happen to it, she would never see Equestria or her friends again. Even though this couldn't have been further from the truth.

And then there was Melody. She had sounded no older then Fluttershy herself, yet there was an unexplainable power, along with a very warm and welcome sage like wisdom around her that would have left Princess Celestia speechless. She was almost certain that Melody was not from this world. She was still having a hard time believing that this was a world that could survive and thrive entirely off of silliness and insanity, but something about Melody told her she hailed from a world with some sort of powerful magic about it, such as Equestria, who had decided to come here and live out her life as one of these Toons. That, or she was here doing some kind of research on the Toons and was maintaining a low profile by disguising herself as one of them.

 _"I'll have to ask her about that later."_ She thought to herself. _"If I ever get the chance."_

At least Melody seemed friendly enough. And she HAD said that she may know of a way to send Fluttershy home. While that sounded like a giant "Maybe" to Fluttershy, at least it was SOMETHING to go off of, so she wasn't left flying completely in the dark.

Speaking of Melody, Fluttershy finally decided it was time to take a look at that bag she had given her. Carefully, she removed the strap, set it down on the bed next to her, and opened it.

She raised an eyebrow at the contents. There was a small, grey, round object inside of it that had a pair of white eyes, a large smile, and a clip on the back. As soon as she picked it up though, it turned yellow and grew cat ears at the top. Numbers had also appeared in the eyes. They both read fifthteen.

Setting that down, she took out the next item from the bag. It looked like a small pouch that she could strap around her waist. It was even colored pink to match her dress.

She set it down and pulled something else out of the bag. It was a portable hole just like Snappy's. She raised an eyebrow at it, but ultimately decided not to try and use it until she could be shown how to use it, preferably by Snappy or his brother.

Setting it down, she grabbed another item from the bag. It was a book identical to the one she had seen Snappy holding before. It had the words "Official Toontown Shticker Book" on the back of it. She wanted to take a look at it, but there was one more thing in the bag to look at.

She reached inside and pulled out what appeared to be a small jellybean jar. It already had some jellybeans inside of it. She gave it a funny look, as if trying to decide if it was something useful or a practical joke, before setting it down.

There was nothing else in the bag to be spoken of, apart from Applejack's hat. She took a look down at the golden scarf her friends had made for her, and pulled it off the rest of the way. If that encounter with those thugs were an indication of anything, she figured she shouldn't wear it around town, as it might draw the wrong kind of attention. She carefully put it into the bag with Applejack's hat.

She was just about to put the rest of the bags contents back inside of it, when the front door to the building suddenly burst open, giving her a minor shock from how sudden it was.

"Who's there?" A young and silly voice called out to nobody in particular, causing Fluttershy to raise an eyebrow. She quickly slid off of the bed and ran over to the doorway.

"Daffy, what are you doing? You know you're not allowed in here!" Snappy yelled. Clearly, he was in objection to the rather loud entrance.

Fluttershy paused in the doorway to look at the Toon Snappy had just called Daffy. Daffy was also a dog, and was shorter then Snappy was, though only slightly. He was lime green in color and wore a blue t-shirt and blue knee-length shorts. At that moment, he had a goofy grin on his face that told Fluttershy he was about as crazy as everything else in this wacky world.

Daffy took a quick look around, and when he spotted Fluttershy, his eyes bugged out in a comedic fashion, and his jaw, quite literally, unhinged from his head and hit the floor for a few seconds.

Fluttershy gave Daffy a strange look, as if she were trying to decide if he was just strange, or completely crazy.

Snappy, on the other hand, just sighed and crossed his arms.

"Here we go..." He muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes at Daffy.

Daffy's eyes then retracted into his head and his jaw returned to its original place, before grinning widely and pointing at Fluttershy.

"KITTENS!" He screamed, so loudly that Fluttershy let out a surprised squeak and covered her ears, before she was tackled back into the infirmary by Daffy.

"Ouch! Let me go! That hurts!" Fluttershy exclaimed in a heavily strained voice, trying her best to pry Daffy off of her, who currently had her trapped in a giant bear hug. She didn't mind hugs, to be sure, but she really hated it when people tried to squeeze the life out of her. She felt like her head was going to pop like one of Pinkie Pie's balloons.

"Hug the kitty, hug the kitty, hug the kitty, hug the kitty!" Daffy chanted, squeezing Fluttershy even tighter. Clearly, he liked cats. Perhaps a bit too much...

Snappy quickly ran over and pried the two apart, using a special technique he had learned from Dusty. Fluttershy staggered to her feet, coughed a couple of times, and stood in place as Snappy slammed Daffy into a nearby wall, struggling to catch her breath. Daffy had quite literally knocked and squeezed the wind out of her.

"Daffy, what did I tell you about trying to bear hug cats? You know they hate that!" Snappy scolded, giving Daffy a furious look.

Daffy just laughed like someone who had just heard the most ridiculous joke of all time.

"Sushi and tires!" Daffy stated, smiling widely at his own sentence. Snappy's palm met his forehead.

"You're just a lost cause, aren't you, Daffy?" Snappy inquired, turning around to face Fluttershy, whose face was currently red. "Are you alright? You're red as a tomato."

Fluttershy continued to take deep breaths, but nodded to Snappy. Already her face was returning to its normal color. Snappy smiled at her.

"Batten down the hatches like something from a Short Change!" Daffy suddenly exclaimed, before bouncing out of the room like a little green and blue rubber ball. Fluttershy gave him a blank expression as she watched him go. What the heck did THAT mean?

Snappy walked over to her to make sure she was alright.

"That was Daffy, my little brother. As you could probably tell..." Snappy started, looking back at the doorway to see if Daffy was there. "He's not very bright. As a cog fighter? Ah, there's room for improvement. But we're talking about a Toon whose brain power is just north of a bedroom slipper."

Something about that line made Fluttershy giggle. Snappy smiled at her.

"Well, it's the truth. That dog was born stupid, and he's getting worse every day, I swear!" Snappy exclaimed, gesturing dramatically toward the doorway to emphasis his point. Fluttershy let out another giggle and looked over at the doorway. Daffy had just reappeared, and he was holding what appeared to be a small shovel.

"Just changing some lightbulbs, Snappy!" He exclaimed, before charging out of the room again. The two heard him leave the building, slamming the door loudly behind him.

"I see what you mean." Fluttershy said to Snappy, a smile on her face. Even though Daffy had just attempted to suffocate her, she couldn't deny that there was something funny about Daffy and the way he behaved.

"Most of the stuff he says is completely random, so just ignore him if he says something that sounds important." Snappy instructed, before walking out of the room and back to the desk. He had just been looking at an important file when Daffy burst into the building. He wanted to get back to it before Dusty got here.

"I AM SHOVELMAN!" Fluttershy heard Daffy shout outside, followed shortly by the sound of the shovel hitting something wooden. It sounded like he had just driven the thing into a tree.

Fluttershy slowly exhaled, allowing herself to calm down once again, before turning back to the bag of items, the contents of which were scattered around the bag. She had just picked up the little yellow object again when the door to the building burst open again.

"Cheese and cucumbers!" Daffy shouted, before throwing a tennis across the room with the force of a cannonball. The ball hit the back of Snappy's head, knocking him out of his chair and onto the floor. Hit hat fell off.

"OUCH! Why, you little..." Snappy growled, getting to his feet and quickly grabbing Daffy by the back of his head the belt of his shorts.

Fluttershy hurried over to see what was going on.

"Daffy, I have HAD IT with you today!" Snappy shouted, before giving Daffy a swift kick to the rear, sending the little green dog flying through the air and slamming face-first into a tree.

"I'm okay!" Daffy shouted, before standing up and slamming his face into the tree repeatedly, pretending to be a woodpecker. "Look at me! I'm a triceratops!"

Snappy just lowered his upper eyelids at Daffy.

"Idiot." Snappy muttered, before slamming the door. He then walked past Fluttershy and back over to the desk, picking up his hat off the floor and rubbing the back of his head. That ball hurt!

"Did he throw something at you?" Fluttershy asked, concern in her eyes, walking over to Snappy.

"Sure feels like it." He complained, slipping his hat back on. "Sheesh, what's his problem?"

Just when it seemed like the two would finally get a little bit of peace, there was a knock at the door. Snappy sighed and approached, still rubbing the back of his head.

"Now what?" He asked in a grumpy tone, before opening the door to see who it was.

There stood Dusty Bumblejinks, his older brother and resident superhero of Toontown. Fluttershy let out a low gasp when she saw who it was. Snappy just smiled.

"Hey, Dusty! It's about time!" Snappy happily exclaimed, stepping aside so Dusty could come in.

"Sorry, little Snap. I got help up on the way here." Dusty told his little brother, in a very tough, yet kind voice, as he walked in and closed the door behind him. "Apparently there was a commotion in Donald's Dock and Toontown Central. I went to go take a look. You're doing, I suppose?"

Snappy sighed sadly and nodded his head.

Fluttershy clutched both hands behind her back and slowly approached Dusty. He was about a head or so taller than Snappy, and was crimson red in terms of fur and hair color, but apart from that they looked identical. They were both dogs, they both wore black boots and black fingerless gloves, and both had black pilots hats with golden letters. She noticed that Dusty was wearing a different colored battle outfit then Snappy; His was purple in color. Dusty's hat had a "D" on it. Fluttershy could also see that Dusty was carrying a black policeman's billy club on his belt, and there was a seltzer bottle strapped to his back. She had seen a picture of it in one of Twilight's books once.

Dusty then looked over and spotted Fluttershy. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Hello. Who's this?" He asked, turning around to face her. Snappy walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"You remember what that letter you got from Melody told you? Mystery's machine taking a little Pony from another world and bringing her into ours?" Snappy asked his older brother, who looked over at him and nodded.

Snappy gestured with his head towards Fluttershy, who looked between the two brothers curiously.

"Well, that's her." Snappy said. Dusty gave Fluttershy a surprised look.

"Oh dear. I was afraid of this." Dusty exclaimed, walking over and dropping to one knee so he was on level with Fluttershy. "Are you alright? I heard you've had a pretty rough ride into this world, being torn from you're comfort zone and all."

Fluttershy lowered her gaze to the floor.

"Um... I think so." She silently answered. Dusty then put a hand to his chin, before looking at Snappy.

"So, what'll we do, Dusty? She's stuck here without her friends, and if Melody can't come up with a way to get her home, she could be trapped here forever." Snappy said to Dusty, worry in his face. He really wanted to help Fluttershy get home. She didn't deserve to be ripped out of her own world like this, stuck in this world, separated from her friends.

Dusty gave Snappy a reassuring look and a thumbs up.

"Don't worry about it, Snappy. If anyone can find a way to get her home, it's Melody. She can do anything, you know." Dusty told his younger brother, before looking back at Fluttershy. "It's Fluttershy, isn't it?"

She looked back up at him and nodded with a sad expression on her face.

"Sounds like you've had one heck of a rough day. I heard you ended up here on account of a portal in time and space." Dusty said to her, as if hoping she could confirm this for him. She wiped away a lone tear that had formed in her eye.

"I honestly have no idea how I got here. This giant purple portal opened in the middle of my house, me and my friends approached it, it turned red and..." Her voice trailed off. Dusty could already tell where she was going. And so could Snappy.

"A purple and red portal. Just like the one that appeared in Mystery's machine yesterday. And somehow I just know this is my fault." Snappy said with a hint of guilt in his tone.

Dusty just sighed and put a hand on Fluttershy's shoulder.

"Well, at least you're alive. And that's what matters. And like Melody said in her letter, we can worry about getting you home tomorrow, when the suns up." He told her, turning around to look out the nearby window. The sky outside had turned a bright orange. "The suns just about gone by now. And nobody is stupid enough to go up to Melody's place after dark. Way to dangerous."

Snappy reached behind him and put a hand on the table, pulling out the note from Melody Fluttershy had given him.

"So, what'll we do until then? Even if Melody can find a way to get her home, she'll need to know how to defend herself from the cogs in the meantime." Snappy asked Dusty, who turned around again to face his little brother.

Dusty smiled at his little brother in a reassuring way.

"I think I know what we can do."

* * *

Dusty Bumblejinks and all associated characters are owned and copyright by Bulldozer Studios.

Fluttershy, My Little Pony and all associated characters are owned and copyright by Hasbro.

Toontown and all associated characters, including the cogs, are owned and copyright by The Walt Disney Company.


	6. 5 Battle at the Estate

**_\- Three hours later -_**

It was now getting close to eleven at night. Dusty, Snappy and Fluttershy had spent about ten minutes of that time getting to know one another, as well as hearing about Snappy and Fluttershy's exploits against the cogs and the Smog Smashers. Dusty had groaned in frustration when he heard the Smog Smashers were back in town, but raised an eyebrow when he heard Fluttershy had managed to kill a Big Cheese with a pie, despite having no formal training in the use of throw gags. Dusty knew as well as the next Toon that it took at least a week of training before one could properly handle a cream pie in a Cog battle.

This made Dusty happy. It told him that Fluttershy had some sort of natural skill when it came to gag handling, which would make it easy for him to instruct her on proper gag handling, which would make it easier for her to defend herself against the cogs.

Fluttershy had spent most of the past three hours reading a very special book Dusty had suggested she look at, "The Toontown Survival Handbook". It was a complete encyclopedia written by Dusty himself, which contained information about Toontown and everything in it, including the cogs and expert strategies for dealing with them.

Thanks to this little book, and some questions answered by Dusty, Fluttershy was able to learn more about the world she was currently in. True enough, it was a world where everyone survived purely on happiness and silliness. And that it was under attack by the vile cogs: robotic, soulless, heartless, business-loving monsters that existed for the sole purpose of taking over Toontown and turning it into a desolate, business-friendly wasteland.

Although there were rumors of "The Chairman" flying around town, who supposedly was the boss of all the cogs, some time ago, the vile Mystery appeared and, despite the fact he was a Toon, he appeared to be a very powerful authority figure over them. Even the four major Cog bosses, whom were located inside the four headquarters outside of Toontown, seemed to take orders from him, leading many to believe that he was the Chairman himself. However, this had been proven false many times. To this day, nobody knows who Mystery really is, or where he came from. Or how he got into the position he's in within the cogs ranks. It was widely assumed he is either a robot, or he just went crazy and turned to evil.

The Toons had developed a way to fight back against the cogs: They couldn't take a joke. Hench, they used gags to destroy them in battle. The war between the Toons and the cogs had been going on for many years, with neither side showing any sign of calling it quits in all that time.

But despite the danger, some Toons in town found the act of destroying cogs very entertaining, often times finding themselves in the streets smashing cogs more often than they did planting flowers or throwing parties, or playing minigolf.

The book also contained explanations for all of the items Fluttershy had pulled out of the bag Melody had given her. The small, round, grey object that turned yellow upon picking it up was a Laff meter ( _Fluttershy giggled at the pun_ ), which measured a Toons remaining physical health, called "Laff" points. All Toons started at fifthteen, and in order to get more, they'd have to accomplish specific goals around Toontown to increase their maximum Laff. This included doing certain "Toontasks" at the Toon Headquarters located on every street and in every playground. Anytime that a Toon lost all their Laff points, they would pass out and reawaken in the nearest playground, with all the gags they had in their gag pouch gone. Of course, this is assuming they were within the Toontown city limits, as if they're outside the city limits when their Laff meter hits zero, something else is known to happen, although nobody knew exactly what this was; No Toon had ever lost all their Laff outside Toontown before.

The little pink pouch that she could strap to the back of her dress was a gag pouch. It was how Toons carried the gags they used against the cogs, using special shrinking technology that had been developed over at Loony Labs to allow for easy carrying and access.

There was also the portable hole, which allowed for easy and quick access of all the playgrounds and the Toons houses. Fluttershy could see Pinkie Pie using something like this back home in Ponyville, and it made her giggle again. Many things in this world reminded her of Pinkie Pie and how insane she could be. She just knew Pinkie would love it here.

Then there was the Shticker Book, a very special book that all Toons carried on their person. It was able to keep track of many aspects of their personal progress, including how their gag training is coming along, how many kinds of fish they'd caught, how many racing trophies they'd won, and loads of other cool features that Fluttershy almost felt overwhelmed by. It even kept track of Cog invasions, pointing out areas of Toontown that were currently being invaded. She wondered for a good, long while how they managed to create something like this. It seemed pretty handy.

And of course, there was the jellybean jar, which featured the same shrinking technology as the gag pouch. It was used to carry around jellybeans that the Toons would use to buy various services across the town, including buying gags in the gag shops. Fluttershy giggled at the thought of using candy as currency, but then again, she had seen crazier things in her short time here.

The rest of the guide contained a brief history of how Toontown came to be and how the various neighborhoods were founded, as well as some terminology that was commonly used in this place. With any luck, this would help her figure out her way around this place, at the very least.

She set the book down on the bedside table next to her. It had been a good read, and had helped her learn more about the world she was in. For some reason, she didn't feel so lost anymore.

She got up off the bed and walked into the main room, where she saw Dusty and Snappy at the large table, looking over a couple of documents. Daffy was in the corner, attempting to dance the worm... and failing miserably. He kept missing a step and falling flat on his face.

She walked up to Dusty and Snappy, who both turned to look at her with warm smiles on their faces.

"Ah, hello, Fluttershy. Did that book help in any way?" Snappy asked her, holding something that closely resembled blueprints in his hand.

Fluttershy smiled and nodded at him.

"Yes, it did. Thanks for letting me have a look at it." She said to the two brothers, which made Dusty smile again. "How did you learn how to deal with those cogs so well?"

Dusty looked over at Snappy, before setting down the document he was holding. It looked to be a small log of computer messages.

"I've been smashing those cogs into scrap metal for over a decade, Fluttershy. You tend to develop some expert strategies for destroying them, when you've racked up as many years of experience as I have." Dusty explained, before letting out a chuckle.

Snappy then let out a yawn and looked over at the clock. It was just turning eleven.

"I think it's time to hit the sack, Dusty. We need our energy for tomorrow." Snappy said, getting up from the table and stretching out.

Dusty got up and yawned as well, along with Fluttershy. They were both feeling drained after the day's events.

"You got a point there, Snap. It's been a rough day for all of us." Dusty claimed, plucking his hat off of his head and wiping it down, before slipping it back on.

"Rough and tumble broke the marshmallow!" Daffy exclaimed, body slamming the floor for no reason, before laughing out loud. This extracted chuckles from Dusty and Snappy, while Fluttershy just gave him an "Are-You-Crazy?" expression.

"Daffy, you're a laugh and a half. I hope you know that." Snappy said, wiping a lone tear from his eye, as Dusty took a deep breath to calm himself.

Daffy then pulled his shovel from out of nowhere and stood up, posing like a superhero.

"Shovelman rides again!" He screamed, before charging out the door, into the grounds of the estate, and back to his house, whacking every tree in sight with the shovel as he went. Fluttershy noticed that the trees all made cartoonish sounds, such as vehicle horns of various types, when they were struck, which made her laugh a little.

"Oh boy, that kid." Dusty said, heading toward the door along with Snappy. "You just never know what he's going to do next."

Snappy nodded in approval, still chuckling from Daffy's craziness, before turning back to Fluttershy, who was currently standing by the table looking out the window at the night sky.

"You can sleep in the infirmary if you want. The beds are open, and I know you need somewhere to sleep for the night." Snappy told her, with a warm smile on his face once again.

Fluttershy looked back at him and nodded, still smiling.

"Thanks, Snappy." She told him happily.

Snappy then paused, let out a sigh, and looked down sadly.

 _"She's such a kind and sweet thing... she doesn't deserve what she's going through. This is cruelty of the highest degree, and I know Dusty knows it as well as I do."_ Snappy thought bitterly to himself, clearly in protest over Fluttershy's current state and situation.

Fluttershy noticed he looked slightly distressed and slowly approached, looking concerned.

"Um, Snappy? Is something wrong?" She asked, which pulled him from his thoughts. He looked up at her and sighed again, before handwaving the entire ordeal away.

"Oh no, it's nothing. Just lost in thought again." He told her with a smile, before turning around and heading toward the door, yawning again. "I really need to get some rest. And you should, too. We have to go see Melody tomorrow morning, right?"

"Mhm." Fluttershy replied, smiling once again, though she couldn't help but feel slightly worried for his well-being.

"Well, see you tomorrow. Sweet dreams." Snappy called, before closing the door behind him as he left the building.

With Snappy out of earshot, Fluttershy let out an audible sigh, a long frown on her face. She could tell that Snappy was worried and concerned for her, given her current situation, but considering Snappy's own situation that he was currently faced with, she wished a solution to both their problems would come up out of nowhere and relieve them of the pain both of them were facing.

It was hard enough that she was trapped in a world so different from her own with no easy way to get home, heck, she wasn't even sure if there WAS a way back home yet; Melody hadn't given her a straight answer.

But Snappy's entire ordeal almost broke her heart when she first heard about it. She was still having trouble trying to take in the entire thing, and she could somehow tell it would be a long time before she ever could.

The fact that he had been so nice to her, even protecting her from both evil cogs and nasty Toons alike, only served to make her feel even worse about the pain he was more than likely feeling. It probably wasn't easy being in the position he was in.

But it also made her smile in a way, since it told her that he was willing to put aside his own personal issues to help the less fortunate. She once again just assumed that it came with the job of behind a sidekick to a famous superhero.

She then let out a low yawn. After everything that had happened that day, she wasn't surprised that she was about ready to pass out. She silently turned around and went back to the infirmary.

She put the Laff meter, gag pouch, Shticker book, jellybean jar and portable hole onto the bedside table, set the pink bag under the table, and climbed up into the bed itself. It seems she didn't fully understand just how tired she was, for she fell asleep only seconds after lying down.

* * *

 ** _\- Later that night -_**

Mystery, the Vice President, the Chief Financial Officer, the Chief Justice, and the Chief Executive Officer, along with several thousand of the highest level cogs from each of the four Cog Headquarters were assembled in the Executive Office Tower. Lady Mildew Grumblecrash was there as well, holding her trademark clipboard, along with a light blue mouse who only went by the name of "Number Four", whom had a neutral expression on his face and a green long-sleeve shirt and shorts. The four Cog bosses seemed eager to get this meeting underway, and for good reason.

Mystery, his robotic eye now fully operational again, looked from one Cog boss to the next, then to the giant crowd assembled in the room. The silence in the room was deathly and cast a vile atmosphere that would spark instant dread into the hearts of even the toughest of Toons.

"Bring them forward." Mystery commanded. On his orders, a small group of Big Cheeses brought the Smog Smashers forward, their arms restrained behind their backs. The four Toons looked at Mystery in pure fear. What was he going to do with them?

"So, is it true? You encountered the Pony girl in Toontown Central?" Mystery questioned, giving the four a hard stare that made them tremble on the spot.

"Y-Yes, sir... we did..." The cat answered after a brief pause. This caused Mystery to slam his fist into the desk, startling all four of them.

"If memory serves, you were supposed to be providing reinforcements to our invasion in The Brrrgh. What in the blazes were you doing in Toontown Central!?" The brown cat demanded, glaring at the four Smog Smashers with deep contempt in his eyes.

None of them could answer that question, and instead looked down at the ground, not wanting to face their boss.

The brown cat snapped his fingers, and the cogs restraining them grabbed fistfuls of their hair and forced their heads upwards to face their boss.

"If you four were in Toontown Central, why didn't you attempt to capture the Pony girl and bring her before us?" Mystery asked, looking very close to ordering the four to death. The Smog Smashers decided they had better not test his patience any further.

"We didn't know she was the one, sir. Our attention was on that golden scarf she was wearing." The bear whimpered, earning sneers from the other cogs in the room. "And to top it off, she's charmed. She's under the protection of the Bumblejinks Bros.. We witnessed Snappy leading her out of Toontown Central. Even now, she's resting at their estate, along with Dusty..."

Mystery groaned in frustration. Not exactly what he wanted to hear.

"First you fail to reinforce our assault on The Brrrgh, and then you let the Pony girl get away..." The brown cat grumbled under his breath, eyes closed, before glaring at the Smog Smashers once again. "I should have the four of you put to death right now. But you know what? I really hate Toontown Central, I really hate the Toons in it, and I absolutely love it when chaos breaks out and brings that neighborhood's daily activities to a screeching halt! For once, you four made a mistake, and something good came out of it!"

The Smog Smashers looked up at their boss a little more hopeful then before. Maybe this wouldn't be their last day after all.

"So... you're not going to execute us?" The mouse asked, to which Mystery simply hand-waved.

"You four may live... for now." The brown cat replied, and the Smog Smashers let out sighs of relief. Perhaps there WAS a bit of mercy in their boss. Up until now, they were under the assumption that he had no mercy to give.

"But... what about the attack on The Brrrgh?" The rabbit asked, getting the attention of his fellow companions, before the attention of all four was brought back to their boss, who had just slammed his fist into the table again.

"AM I NOT MYSTERY!? I will discipline my henchmen the way I see fit!" The brown cat shouted, before waving them away from himself. "Get them out of here!"

The cogs started to drag the Smog Smashers away, but the mouse's eyes widened when he realized he had forgotten something.

"Wait! What about the attack on the Bumblejinks estate? I thought we were going to be there!" He called out to Mystery, who simply huffed in annoyance.

"No. I'm not leaving such an important job to the likes of your four. Not after your double blunder. I'm leaving that to Mildew here." He said, pointing a thumb to Mildew, who simply smiled and waved to the Smog Smashers as they were escorted out of the room.

Mystery watched them go, and then turned his chair around to face Mildew.

"Is everything ready, Mildew?" He asked her, to which she grinned happily.

"We're half an hour ahead of schedule, sir. We're ready to go at you're command." Mildew reported, earning an evil sneer from her boss.

"A whole half hour, why... whatever would I do without you?" He said, nodding in approval at Mildew. He then frowned and spun his chair around to the table in front of him, where laid a report he had gotten from Big Cheese second-in-command 119-1. There was also a second document, which contained blueprints and plans for something Mystery dubbed "Day of Judgement".

"It would not be wise for Bumblejinks to learn of our plans just yet." The brown cat instructed, snapping his fingers to call 119-1 to his side. The cog in question came running over as Mystery rolled up the blueprints and plans like a scroll. "If they discover what I'm planning to build, we're finished."

"I'll take them to Bossbot Headquarters. The top-secret security vault was just installed. They'll be much safer there." Number Four said, taking the plans from Mystery and tucking them away into the pocket of his red jacket.

Mystery nodded to him as he and 119-1 turned and walked out of the room, and turned back to the rest of the cogs in the room.

"Everyone, organize two attack teams. Take three thousands of our strongest cogs in each. With the first one, launch a full-scale invasion on Toontown Central. With any luck, this activity will draw Dusty away from his estate, leaving Snappy and the Pony girl easy pickings for the townspeople." He began to explain, earning nods of approval from the four Cog bosses and the rest of the cogs in the room.

"Under Mildew's direction, lead the second attack team directly to the Bumblejinks estate. Once the Toons have tired themselves out fighting amongst themselves, move in and mop up the survivors, eliminate Snappy, and bring back the Pony girl. I have much in store for her." The brown cat ordered, before standing up off his chair and shouting to the entire room: "Go! We attack TONIGHT! This meeting is adjourned!"

* * *

 ** _\- Some time later -_**

 _Fluttershy couldn't tell where she was when she next woke, but to her, it felt as if she had been asleep for a whole decade. She quickly stood up and looked around, unable to see where she was or what was going on. Everything past her nose was just a blur._

 _Then the picture began to come clear. She could see Princess Celestia, in her Pony form, though for some reason she looked about a thousand years younger than she remembered her being. And she was battling it out with Nightmare Moon, who was also in her Pony form._

 _Fluttershy just looked confused by the entire ordeal. Why was she seeing this?_

 _And then it became clear what she was seeing: She was seeing the very moment Princess Celestia sealed her sister in the moon. But, that was supposed to have been over a thousand years ago! Why was she seeing it here, in present day?_

 _Fluttershy gasped and clutched both hands together, as the scene blurred out to white._

 _When the scene returned, it showed Princess Celestia standing in front of three coffins. All three had been sealed, though whose names were on top, she couldn't tell; they were nothing but blurry messes of letters._

 _"My friends, please, calm yourselves!" Celestia was saying to a giant gathering of various kinds of Ponies, who all appeared to be trying to get closer to her. Fluttershy then noticed they were all wearing furious looks on their faces, and many of them were screaming and shouting at Celestia. The Princess herself had a half worried, half terrified expression on her face._

 _Her royal guards were doing their best to hold back the crowd, but the crowd out numbered them a hundred to one, and she could tell they couldn't hold them back much longer._

 _And then Fluttershy noticed something else: Her friends were all there lined up in front of the Princess, and they were also pleading with the crowd. They all had panicked looks on their faces._

 _"It's not her fault!" Rainbow Dash cried out._

 _"She didn't do anything!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed._

 _"Please, calm down!" Rarity pleaded._

 _"Can't y'all just simmer down?" Applejack shouted furiously._

 _"Please, just listen to us! It's not her fault they died!" Twilight Sparkle spoke, tears in her eyes._

 _Fluttershy noticed that she herself was mysteriously missing from the scene, but then she looked over at the three coffins once again, and let out a gasp of horror, raising both hands to her mouth._

 _Though the coffins names were illegible, she could clearly see the cutie marks carved into the top. And therefor, she could easily tell whose coffins they were._

 _Applebloom._

 _Shining Armor._

 _And Fluttershy felt her heart break when she saw the three butterflies carved into the last one._

 _Herself._

 _She heard a commotion and looked over. The crowd had finally broken through the royal guards, whose spears snapped in half from the sheer force of the crowds advance, and the guards themselves were trampled as the Ponies all charged the stage._

 _Fluttershy couldn't take it any longer._

 _"No! Stop!" Fluttershy tried to cry out, only to find her voice was muffled, as if someone had put a filter over it. She felt on the verge of collapse._

 _She watched, with tears in her eyes and her heart shattered in two, as the Pony hoard charged forward, knocking her friends over like dominos. She could see Rarity and Pinkie Pie being violently thrown aside and heard a terrifying shriek of agony from Twilight Sparkle, one that caused Fluttershy to fall to her knees and cover her ears._

 _"No! Please! Stop! I can't watch this anymore!" Fluttershy cried out, forgetting that her voice was still muffled, unable to continue watching this heartbreaking scene._

 _She then looked up and saw the crowd reach Princess Celestia, who had her horn pointed at them in a threatening manner. But they weren't having any of that, and quickly proceeded to dogpile her. Strong as Celestia was, the mobs sheer size was ultimately too much for her to handle._

 _Twilight Sparkle looked up weakly from where she was lying, saw the Princess collapse under the mobs weight, and slowly raised a weak and trembling hoof in her direction, before her eyes slowly slid closed and she collapsed limply on the ground._

 _Fluttershy shut her eyes as tightly as she could, still covering her ears with both hands._

 _"No! Stop! Stop this!" She screamed in her muffled voice, trying, but failing, to block out the sound of the Pony hoard hurting Princess Celestia and her friends weakened, feeble cries of disbelief._

 _The scene then went white once again, and it switched to the Tooniverse. Fluttershy could see that she was in a large grassy field in the middle of the night, just outside of Toontown. But something was wrong about this scene. The usual black night sky was filled with dark clouds of various shades of red, some bright red, some crimson red, all of which were circling the town in the skies overhead like the world's biggest tornado. A massive wind was blowing through the area, whipping the trees this way and that, though Fluttershy couldn't feel it._

 _She gasped in fright and rose to a standing position, but then she found herself wishing she hadn't. Upon turning around, she was met with a sight that made her scream._

 _Cogs. Hundreds, no, thousands of dark-suited, wicked-faced cogs, were marching towards and past her, clearly headed for the town. For some reason, they were passing right by her. Some of them walked right THROUGH her, as if she weren't really there. Was she some sort of ghost? Was this some kind of out of body experience she was having? She couldn't tell._

 _She could hear multiple screams of agony all around her, both of innocent Toons and those of her friends and Princess Celestia. No doubt these cogs were the cause of it. She covered her ears again and dropped to her knees._

 _"Not this! I don't want this either! Please, stop it!" She cried out, unable to hear herself over the sound of the wind and the marching Cog army. She couldn't take anymore. It was all too much for her._

 _But just when she thought it couldn't get any worse, she heard somebody calling her name in the distance._

 _"Fluttershy, fluttershy! Wake up! You're dreaming! Snap out of it!"_

 _She recognized that voice._

 _It was Snappy!_

* * *

"Fluttershy, wake up!" Snappy called, shaking Fluttershy's shoulder in an attempt to wake her from her nightmare. He had heard her screaming in her sleep.

Fluttershy suddenly sat up with a gasp. She took several deep breaths to calm herself down, before looking over at Snappy. She realized she was in the infirmary of this little building on the Bumblejinks estate.

 _"Oh, thank Celestia... it was only a dream..."_ Fluttershy thought to herself, still rattled over the disturbing dream she had just had. It had been a LONG time since she had a nightmare like that! Especially one that involved her friends and Princess Celestia!

"Were you having some kind of nightmare? You were making quite a ruckus in here." Snappy asked, his face filled with concern, worry and downright terror.

Fluttershy rubbed her eyes and looked over at the clock. Half past midnight.

"Yes, I was, but I'm alright. What's going on?" She asked. Why did he come out here and wake her up in the middle of the night? She was grateful for his timing, pulling her from that terrifying dream, but she still wanted to know.

"We're in trouble! The estates getting raided!" Snappy suddenly exclaimed, getting Fluttershy's full attention. She gasped and looked at him with wide eyes.

"What do you mean?" She asked, sliding off of the bed.

"There's an angry mob at the front gate! They must be after me! My brother's waiting for us outside!" Snappy explained, before running toward the door with his cream pie cannon in one hand. "Come on! He needs our help!"

Fluttershy was unsure what to make of the situation. First she had a terrifying dream that Nightmare Moon wished she could have given her, now the estate was getting raided by yet another angry mob.

She started to head out of the building, but then stopped when she remembered the items on the table. Somehow, she had a feeling she was going to need them.

 _"Just in case."_ She told herself, running back over to the table.

She quickly picked up the gag pouch and strapped it around her waist, in a way that she could easily reach it with her right hand, then picked up the Laff meter and clipped it on next to the gag pouch. She quickly picked up the portable hole, Shticker book and jellybean jar and put them into her pockets, then took off out of the building after Snappy.

"Dusty!" Snappy called out, as he and Fluttershy ran up to him. He had a troubled look on his face and was looking at a page in his Shticker book. Despite the fact it was night, there was still some light so they could see.

"What's happening?" Fluttershy asked. Though she still felt tired, she was wide awake at that moment. Sleeping could wait until later.

Dusty pointed over toward the gate to the estate. A crowd of Toons were there attempting to force it open, pitchforks and torches in the air. That gate must have been made of some strong material!

"Well, for starters, there's an angry mob trying to force their way into the estate. More than likely, they've come for Snappy." Dusty explained, before looking at his Shticker book again. "And on top of that, there's a hoard of cogs invading Toontown Central."

"Anything else?" Snappy questioned, almost dreading the answer.

"Yep. There's a second hoard of cogs en route to here, to attack us directly. I spotted them coming from my rooftop. We've got a triple threat on our hands here." Dusty finished, closing his Shticker book and looking back at Snappy and Fluttershy.

Snappy's eyes widened when he heard a group of cogs were coming to attack them at their own home. He guessed Mystery took his latest defeat harder then he thought.

"Well, how do you suggest we go about stopping them? We can't be in two places at once!" Snappy pointed out, watching the crowd of Toons at the gate carefully. He hoped that gate would be strong enough to hold them for a while.

"Well, the Toon Resistance caught wind of the invasion and they're on their way to deal with the attack on Toontown Central. The police are over by the gate trying to stop the crowd, but it's not looking good." Dusty explained, looking first toward the gate to the estate, and then out toward the horizon. He could see the giant hoard of cogs approaching in the far distance. "Looks like we're on our own. We'll have to stay here and defend the home front."

Fluttershy gulped in fright once. She clearly didn't like the idea of taking on thousands of foes with their limited numbers. Neither did Snappy.

"Are you sure we can take all those cogs by ourselves?" Snappy asked his older brother, getting out a telescope and looking out over the horizon at the approaching Cog mass with it. The group looked like it consisted of mainly level seven and higher cogs. It wouldn't be an easy fight, even for him and his brother.

Dusty just smiled, crossing both arms.

"Ah, we've got this in the bag. We just have to use tactics and strategy, which just happens to be my specialty." Dusty said, pointing a thumb over to a nearby tree that was currently growing whole cream pies. "Besides, we got them for backup."

Snappy and Fluttershy looked over. They could see a pair of ToonFest blue cats, both slightly shorter then Dusty, yet slightly taller than Snappy and Fluttershy, and both wearing similar purple dresses, picking some pies off of the tree. Snappy knew who they were right away.

"Isn't that Penny and Penelope Hucklebee? I saw them in Donald's Dock earlier today. They were acting like they were avoiding me." Snappy told Dusty, who simply chuckled at his little brother.

"Oh no, they weren't avoiding you. They were probably just goofing around. They tend to do that a lot, you know." Dusty told his little brother. He then motioned for him and Fluttershy to go over to the gag trees themselves. "Why don't you two go over and grab a few gags? You're going to need them!"

Snappy and Fluttershy looked at each other with worried expressions, before running over to the gag trees. Penny and Penelope waved happily to the two as they passed.

Fluttershy looked up at the trees and reached up, picking a cream pie off of one. She looked more closely at it. It seemed to be a real pie. She looked over at Snappy, who had just grabbed a birthday cake off another tree and put it into his gag pouch. Fluttershy watched as the cake shrunk upon entering the pouch, and didn't make a mess of anything. Snappy then reached up and grabbed another.

Fluttershy mimicked his movements, moving the pie down to her gag pouch and watching, in amazement, as it shrank upon entering the pouch. She reached inside and took it out again, and it grew back to its regular size in her hand. How the heck did it do that?

"Guys, hurry up!" Dusty warned, still looking out over the night sky. The hoard of cogs was getting closer!

Fluttershy gasped and quickly put the pie away, before walking over and grabbing a few more off the trees. The trees were loaded with them, thankfully.

"Ready?" Snappy asked, pulling out his cream pie cannon and loading it with a couple of fresh cream pies from the trees.

Fluttershy picked another pie off the tree, her thirtieth one, and put it into the gag pouch. She looked over at him and nodded.

"Ready." She said, though there was a small hint of fear in her tone. Snappy noticed this and walked over, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, my brothers the best cog smasher in town. Just follow his lead and we'll get out of this in one piece." Snappy reassured her, making her smile slightly, before running back over to Dusty, cannon in hand.

Fluttershy took another look at the front gate to the estate and saw the Hucklebee twins heading toward it. After one final slow exhale to collect herself, she ran over to Dusty, who had just pulled out a push button and a giant blue magnet.

"This is going to be tough. Snappy, you and Fluttershy go over to that side and handle the cogs there. I'll take this side." Dusty said, pointing over to a small dirt clearing on the other side of a small river that ran across the entire estate. A small stone bridge provided easy access to the other side.

Snappy raised an eyebrow at his older brother.

"You sure about that, bro? One wrong move and one of us is going down in flames faster than you can shake a fire hose at it!" Snappy said, watching as the horde of cogs landed about a hundred yards out from the fence to the estate. There was no more time.

"No time left! Battle stations, everyone!" Dusty shouted, running off toward the fence.

Snappy and Fluttershy looked at each other once again, and hurried off toward the other side of the estate. Daffy was over there pretending to be a chicken... at least, he thought he was.

"Cluck, cluck, cluck! I'm a giraffe! Cluck, cluck, cluck!" Daffy said, waddling away like a penguin toward another area of the estate, knocking over a potted plant as he went.

Snappy and Fluttershy ignored him, however, and ran toward the fence. She quickly took cover behind the fence as Snappy jumped on top of it, aiming the cannon out at the approaching cogs.

Fluttershy was nervous about being on the frontlines of a huge battle like this. Sure, she had fought enemies before, but it was usually with her friends and/or the Elements of Harmony, not to mention her abilities as a Pony. Now, all she had for teammates was Dusty and Snappy Bumblejinks, and all she had for abilities was a pouch full of pies, which were supposed to be extremely deadly against the cogs.

But luckily, Dusty Bumblejinks was an old veteran when it came to Cog smashing. And it looked like she was about to find out why.

Both she and Snappy looked over and saw Dusty throwing a pair of cream pies at a couple of cogs, causing them to explode, before jumping up on top of the fence and front-flipping off of it, throwing out more pies as he went, which all went on to hit and destroy more cogs.

Snappy cracked a smile at his older brother, before turning his attention to the approaching cogs. He quickly took aim with the cream pie cannon and fired a barrage of pies at the oncoming attackers. Each one shot exploded or was staggered severely, as if hit by a wrecking ball.

"Throw a pie at the ones I don't destroy!" Snappy shouted to Fluttershy, continuing to fire pie after pie.

Fluttershy quickly pulled out a pie and let out a low breath, trying to push away her fear. She wasn't going to lie; that freaky nightmare was still fresh in her memory, and minus the wind and red clouds circling in the sky, this looked almost exactly like it. And it made her extremely nervous. Even more so then usual.

 _"Come on, Fluttershy, you have to focus here! It was just a stupid nightmare! This is real, and you're life is on the line! You've got to fight, or you're never going to see your friends again! What would they do if they were in your situation?"_ She thought to herself, and with her left hand clenched into a fist, hurled the pie directly into the nearest Cog, causing him to fall down like an old oak tree and explode.

"Nice shot!" Snappy shouted, although Fluttershy couldn't hear him very well over the sound of Dusty blowing up a large group of cogs with a bundle of TNT.

Fluttershy smiled, and alongside Snappy, continued to fight off the Cog horde. She stayed behind the fence and threw pies at whatever cogs Snappy didn't destroy, a strategy that worked into their favor, since she was able to use the fence as cover whenever a Cog threw an attack at her. Before long, multiple daggers fired from the cogs eyes, hardballs, giant eyeballs, and tin cans were littering the ground in front of the fence, though Fluttershy was unhurt.

She had to admit, though she was scared at first with her nightmare still in her mind, it was kind of fun destroying these robotic monsters, now that she had the means to deal with them properly. Now she knew why some Toons often found themselves destroying cogs more often than doing other activities around town.

"Hang in there, Snappy!" Dusty shouted, as he quickly threw out another bundle of TNT, followed by a couple of trap doors and yet more pies. Cogs were exploding on his end by the dozens, leaving many of them to break away from his side of the field and go toward Snappy's side.

Not that they were any better off on Snappy's end. Snappy's flying with his jetpack and Fluttershy's utilizing the fence for cover against their attacks was making it difficult for the Cog armada to get a read on the two.

But before long, Fluttershy was running low on pies, and she began to get worried. Would there be time for her to run and get more? She was already panting heavily from the fight as it was. Luckily, another solution quickly presented itself.

"Need some help?" A young female voice asked at Fluttershy's ear, as a large birthday cake flew over her head and hit a cog dead in the face, causing him to explode.

Fluttershy looked over to see yet another Dog toon standing at her side, who had clearly thrown the birthday cake. She was bright pink in color and had magenta-colored hair that reached down to her lower back. She had on a dark red dress and matching shoes, and had on a red and yellow polka-dot hair bow. She had just lowered a large basket full of cream pies picked from the trees onto the ground next to Fluttershy. She looked to be about the same height as Penny and Penelope.

"Who are you?" Fluttershy asked, as she stood up and threw another pie over the fence at an approaching Cog. Snappy landed next to them on top of the fence, fired a couple of more pies, and quickly took to the air once again, narrowly dodging a few daggers that were headed straight towards him.

"Rosie. Their middle sister." The pink dog answered, nodding toward Dusty, who had just thrown five pies at once into five different cogs, destroying them all at once, and Snappy, who had just pumped four more pies into four advancing cogs. Fluttershy quickly threw another pie at the one who didn't immediately fall over.

"So you're a cog fighter, too?" Fluttershy asked, grabbing one of the pies out of the basket and throwing it, for her gag pouch had just run out.

"Sort of. I mostly just stay here and tend to the estate, so I'm not nearly as experienced as my brothers." Rosie replied, picking up a pie and tossing it straight into another cogs face.

"Any help we can get is welcome in my book!" Snappy shouted, pulling a birthday cake from his gag pouch and throwing it into another Cog, before firing a few more pies.

Fluttershy wasn't about to argue. Rosie's timing couldn't have been better. She grabbed another pie and threw it into the crowd of cogs, along with Rosie.

Something else then happened that made Fluttershy smile and sigh with relief: Penny and Penelope Hucklebee had come over to help with the battle. Penny herself had run over to help Snappy, Fluttershy and Rosie, while Penelope went to give Dusty some backup. Understandably, the angry mob of Toons quickly turned tail and ran away when the battle started up. They weren't about to get on Mystery's bad side.

The pies were flying by the dozens, and the cogs were dropping and exploding even faster. But the cogs weren't letting up. In fact, the battle only seemed to be heating up! Just when it looked like the battle might come to a head...

"HALT!" Someone shouted into the night, and the cogs all came to a grinding halt. The voice sounded feminine, and it sounded like it came from somewhere behind the cogs.

Everyone quickly ceased fire on both sides. Fluttershy was able to take a second to check her Laff meter. Both eyes still read fifthteen. She then picked up another pie and held it ready, as did Penny and Rosie. Snappy landed on top of the fence and held his cream pie cannon ready. Dusty and Penelope had gone back behind the fence and were also poised to strike.

The cogs parted ways in the middle of the field, allowing someone to come forward. Dusty and Snappy knew who it was on first sight. It was Lady Mildew Grumblecrash, in all her crimson redness, dressed in her usual attire: Smart orange dress with full length sleeves with a red sleeveless overcoat worn over it. Surprisingly, she wasn't carrying her usual clipboard. Instead, she was holding her trademark TNT cannon. Fluttershy's eyes widened at the sight of it, and the giant "TNT" label on the side of it. Was she going to blow them up with it?

Dusty and Snappy tensed up when they saw the cannon in her hand.

"What do you want, Mildew?" Dusty demanded, clutching both hands into fists and glaring at Mildew something fierce. Snappy held his cannon with both hands, ready to begin firing again at a moment's notice.

The bear just laughed at the two brothers.

"Is that any way to greet a guest? My, my, you ARE a charmer." Mildew joked, snickering at her own words.

Dusty and Snappy just narrowed their eyes at her.

"Did you come here and drag all these cogs with you just to make small talk?" Dusty questioned, still tensed and ready for a fight. Snappy knew that tone he was using all too well. It was the same tone he used whenever he was telling a Toon off for causing trouble in the town.

"Really, why are you so quick to bash me? Especially given your brothers current situation." Mildew replied, pointing at Snappy and sneering. Clearly, she thought his entire ordeal was quite amusing, even if nobody shared her sense of humor. But there was someone else's situation that she was more interested in.

After taking a second to clear her throat, she suddenly acquired a serious and deadly tone, one that made Penny and Penelope take a step back in fright. Dusty and Snappy, however, stood their ground.

"Now then, to business. I heard my bosses wormhole machine had sent someone into our world, and that you two arrived on the scene and collected her." Mildew said, looking between Dusty and then Snappy, and then back again, eyes narrowed dangerously. "Please, where is she? My boss would love to have a word with her over at Bossbot Headquarters."

Dusty and Snappy figured it was only a matter of time before Mystery came after Fluttershy. Snappy shot a quick look at Fluttershy, who had gasped at Mildew's words, as if warning her to stay out of sight. Fluttershy quickly crouched behind the basket of pies and hid from sight.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Dusty snarled, still poised to attack. "There's no way we're letting her go with you."

Mildew sighed tragically at Dusty, as if he had just written his own death sentence.

"Now, now, Bumblejinks, you really have no choice in this regard. I have the numbers here." Mildew pointed out, waving to the massive horde of cogs behind her, which was still quite massive even after all the fighting. "Please, just hand her over and spare us all this violence, won't you?"

Snappy just glared daggers at Mildew.

"Over our dead bodies, Mildew!" He shouted, getting her attention. Penny and Penelope took another step back as Mildew glared at him, snarling in fury. Fluttershy stayed put behind the basket.

"Oh well. I tried." Mildew said in a fake "Miss-Goodie-Two-Shoes" tone, before turning to the cogs behind her and shouting at the top of her lungs: "DESTROY THEM ALL!"

It was pandemonium. The cogs, even stronger than before, all marched toward the estate as fast as they could, throwing out attacks at any Toon they could see. Fluttershy, Rosie and Penny did their best to fend them off, but it wasn't long before Penny and Rosie let out screams of agony and fell to the ground next to Fluttershy. She gasped in fright when she saw they were both unconscious. Their laff meters had suddenly turned a sickly green color, and the eyes had been replaced with "X" shapes.

Snappy turned, spotted the two girls unconscious on the ground, and gasped. He quickly turned to Dusty, who was trying his best to keep the cogs away from Penelope, who had just collapsed herself.

"Dusty, we need a plan here!" Snappy shouted, pulling out a TNT bundle from his gag pouch and tossing it into the crowd, destroying even more of the attacking cogs.

Dusty glared in fury at the cogs, before pulling out what appeared to be a megaphone from his gag pouch.

"Time for the Bumblejinks Blitz, Snap!" Dusty shouted, running down the fence line towards Snappy, who quickly flew over and landed next to his brother, pulling out a megaphone of his own. The two Bumblejinks smirked at the cogs and took aim with their gags, causing the entire Cog armada to freeze in place.

"One..." Dusty said.

"Two..." Snappy followed.

And after a short pause...

"THREE!" The two brothers shouted in union, as large orange foghorns suddenly appeared inside their megaphones.

Fluttershy gasped and covered her ears as the loudest sound she had ever heard in her life suddenly ripped through the night: The sound of two extremely loud foghorns going off at once.

They sounded loud enough to wake up the entire town!

The cogs all yelled and shouted in agony, some attempting to cover their ears, others running for safety as the two sound gags tore through the night like a knife cutting through paper.

A brief second later, cogs began to fall over like flies and explode. It was a solid minute of cog after cog falling down and blowing up, more than likely because of the sheer size and power of the Bumblejinks Bros. sound gags. About a thousand cogs in total were destroyed.

Dusty and Snappy nodded to each other, before pulling out ANOTHER pair of megaphones, which housed similar foghorns inside of them.

"Give it up, Mildew! You'll never outwit a Bumblejinks!" Dusty said tauntingly to Mildew, who had covered her ears when Snappy and Dusty used their foghorns. Now that the noise was over, however, she was glaring at the two with deep hatred in her eyes.

"What have you fools done!? You wrecked my cogs! And they aren't even insured!" Mildew shouted in fury, now pointing her TNT cannon at the Bumblejinks Bros. and snarling nonstop under her voice.

Fluttershy peeked out from behind the fence at Mildew, while doing her best to stay out of sight. She watched with baited breath as Mildew took a step forward and aimed her TNT cannon at the two brothers.

"You want to play hardball with me? Fine! Catch THIS!" She shouted, before firing a bundle of TNT at the two brothers.

Dusty, however, had a counterpunch to that. He quickly pulled out his police baton, leaped up, and swung it at the TNT bundle like a baseball bat. Upon being hit, the bundle flew away from the Toons and straight into the crowd of cogs, taking out even more of them.

Mildew turned around and glared at the two dogs.

"You're a cruel canine, Dusty!" She shouted, further fury appearing in her tone, before raising the TNT cannon once again. But she never got the chance to fire it.

"Try this one on for size!" Snappy shouted, as both Bumblejinks raised their sound gags and unleashed another powerful blast, causing Fluttershy to cover her ears again.

One more powerful blast of two foghorns later, more cogs collapsed and exploded. Fluttershy smiled and cheered from her hiding place. They were winning!

Mildew was getting very impatient with the two Bros., and raised her TNT cannon once again.

"You may have beaten my invasion force, but you won't beat me!" She shouted, shortly before firing the cannon at the two.

Dusty tried to hit it back with his police baton, but he swung too high and it landed on the ground behind the two and exploded, sending Snappy crashing into the fence near Fluttershy. The explosion had also damaged a considerable section of fence.

Snappy was completely out of it following that blast, so he didn't see Mildew approaching him, cannon in hand, getting ready to finish him off.

Dusty was dazed by the explosion, but quickly stood up when he saw Mildew walking over to Snappy, her cannon pointed right at him.

"Snappy, look out!" Dusty shouted, but he was unable to get to his little brother to help; A solid wall of cogs was standing between him and Mildew. He'd never be able to get to her in time!

"So long, little dog! This one's for my boss!" Mildew shouted, taking dead aim at Snappy. There was no way she'd miss at this range.

Fluttershy gasped at Snappy's condition and at the bear getting ready to finish him off. She had to do something to help Snappy!

 _"But what!? I don't have any special powers!"_ She thought to herself, looking around for anything she could use against Mildew.

Something then clicked in her mind: Gum up her cannon with a pie! It was their only chance to save Snappy!

Fluttershy quickly grabbed another pie, jumped out from behind the basket, and whistled to Mildew.

The bear gasped and looked up when she heard the whistle.

"What the-!?" She exclaimed, but Fluttershy cut her off mid-sentence.

"Don't you DARE hurt my friend!" Fluttershy screamed, launching the pie directly into Mildew's cannon. The shocked bear accidently pulled the trigger to the cannon, but no TNT bundle came out. Instead, the cannon short-circuited, and a puff of black smoke came out of the end.

"Uh-oh..." Mildew silently exclaimed, knowing what was coming next.

Snappy finally woke up just as the TNT cannon exploded, sending Mildew flying backwards and knocking over cogs like bowling pins, although he was still dazed and confused as to what was going on.

Dusty couldn't help it; He burst out laughing at Mildew when he saw that her entire face and a large portion of her dress were blackened from the explosion. A pair of Downsizers helped her to her feet.

"I've heard of a plan backfiring in your face, but this is ridiculous!" Dusty exclaimed, laughing wildly at Mildew, who simply glared at him.

"Very well. You win this round, Bumblejinks. But rest assured: The next time we meet, you won't be so lucky!" She spat at the crimson canine, before turning around and ordering the surviving cogs to return to their headquarters.

The cogs all brought out their propellers and took to the skies once again, Mildew glaring down at Dusty from the back of a Big Cheese all the way. Dusty watched as the few hundred cogs who survived the battle all flew away and back to Bossbot Headquarters.

The red dog wiped his brow with the back of his hand. They had won!

He then looked over at Fluttershy, who was helping Snappy to his feet. It seemed he'd finally come to his senses.

"Oh my goodness gracious, are you alright!?" Fluttershy asked, clearly worried for Snappy's health, as she helped him up to his feet. He shook his head once looked around.

"Ouch... I took a hit there, but I think I'm alright." He answered, and then raised an eyebrow when he didn't see the cogs anywhere. "Hey, hold on. Where'd the cogs go?"

Dusty walked over and crouched down next to Snappy.

"Fluttershy threw a pie right into Mildew's TNT cannon and destroyed it. She lost her nerve and called off the attack. Talk about a sore loser!" Dusty joked, chuckling out loud.

Snappy couldn't help but chuckle himself, same as Fluttershy.

"Well, she's good at losing, alright!" Snappy exclaimed, before taking a look around and noticing a piece of the fence had been blown away. He sighed sadly.

"Well, that's just lovely." He said with heavy sarcasm in his tone.

Dusty looked over at the broken segment in the fence and shrugged, still smiling at their victory.

"That? Ah, that's nothing. I can fix it in a jiffy!" Dusty said, before standing up, yawning, and stretching out. Understandably, the battle had tired him out.

Snappy and Fluttershy couldn't argue there. They were both worn out after that fight as well. Fluttershy had lost track of how many pies she had thrown, but it had to be close to a hundred. Her arm was sore from the effort.

"Well, how about we gather up Penny, Penelope and Rosie and then go get some shut-eye?" Dusty suggested, and without waiting for an answer, he ran to get Penelope.

Snappy turned to Fluttershy and smiled warmly at her.

"Thanks for saving my tail again, Fluttershy. I would have been a pile of ashes if you hadn't." He thanked her, walking over and hoisting Rosie up onto his shoulder.

"You're welcome. I'm just glad I was able to help out." Fluttershy replied, walking over and helping Snappy carry Rosie back to her little pink house, which sat on the far end of the estate.

"So, how did it feel being on the frontlines of your first big battle?" Snappy asked her, curious as to how she felt during that whole ordeal. She had to think about it for a moment.

"It was a little scary at first, but it was kind of fun to teach those cogs a lesson." She admitted, smiling and chuckling happily. Snappy just smiled at her as they walked up the stone path to Rosie's house, which had the front door open.

"Well, it's good to see that you're able to fend for yourself when the going gets tough. You might just make something out of yourself in this town, if you keep it up." He told her, giving her a reassuring nod, as he reached up and pushed the door to Rosie's house open. "I don't know, but something tells me that between now and you getting home, there's going to be a lot of Cog smashing. Mystery isn't the type to give up after the first attempt, after all."

As the two lifted Rosie up into her bed and Snappy tucked her in, Fluttershy was curious about something, and before she could stop herself, the question came tumbling out of her mouth.

"Um, Snappy? What is Mystery like?" She asked, now suddenly tense, as if dreading the answer.

Snappy just sighed and looked back to her.

"All I can say is this: I hope you never, EVER have to come face-to-face with that evil Toon. To me and Dusty, he's a cakewalk. But to anybody else, he's their worst nightmare. Even the Toon Resistance is terrified of that guy." He replied, earning a curious look from Fluttershy.

"But why is he so evil? Didn't he used to be one of you?" She questioned, as the two walked out of the house and closed the door behind them. Snappy just sighed again.

"Nobody really knows why Mystery turned to evil. Some say he was driven insane. Some say he did it just because. Nobody knows for sure. I don't even think he knows." Snappy replied, before looking back to where the battle had been taking place just moments ago, and felt his eyes widening. "Uh-oh!"

Fluttershy looked over and gasped. The angry mob was back! There was no denying those pitchforks and torches! And now that there was a huge hole in the fence, they didn't have to use the front gate, so they were moving right past it and heading for the gap in the fence.

The Toontown Police were already there, their police batons held in defensive positions, getting ready to have a standoff with the mob. But the mob had them outnumbered a hundred to five, so Snappy didn't have very high hopes for them.

Snappy could see that Dusty was coming out of the Outpost, after more than likely dropping Penny and Penelope off in the infirmary, and was now running over to where the police were currently struggling to hold back the mob.

Snappy and Fluttershy quickly hid behind a large tree nearby. They weren't about to get involved with this one, given how worn down they were.

"Alright, what in the name of Flippy is going on here!?" Dusty demanded, billy club already drawn and a dark glint in his eyes. Someone in the front of the mob addressed him.

"It's Snappy! We've had it with that wild, out-of-control brother of yours! Blowing up half a street in Donald's Dock, flooding a shop, dropping two innocent Toons into a lake of freezing cold water, AND stirring up chaos in Toontown Central? Ever since that whole "Prisoner" fiasco with that yellow cat, he's been nothing but trouble!" The Toon in lead shouted, as the mob continued to try and buffalo their way past the police, who were doing a good job of holding them back.

Dusty just groaned at them.

"Uh, guys? Did you not see that huge battle we just had with the cogs? For real, that field behind you looks like a battlefield! Can't you give us a break for tonight? We're worn to the bone and we need rest!" Dusty shouted, glaring daggers at the Toon mob.

"Well, that just makes our job a little easier." Another Toon spat, still trying to force the police out of the way. One of the Toons even tried to grab a police cats baton away, to which the cat replied by yanking it out of his reach.

Dusty growled something fierce, and then pulled out a megaphone.

"Attention, everyone!" Dusty said calmly into the megaphone, getting everyone's attention. The mob and the police alike both stopped their struggle to see what Dusty was up to.

A brief pause, and then Dusty filled his lungs and, before anyone could get a word in edgewise, he shouted into the megaphone as loudly as he could, shaking leaves off of the nearby trees.

"SNAPPY'S HAD ENOUGH ALREADY!"

It sounded loud enough to blow the entire mob away! Snappy and Fluttershy had to cover their ears, it was so loud. Half of the mob did the same.

"Now get out of my sight!" Dusty shouted, holding his baton in a threatening manner. After all the cogs that were destroyed here, nobody was about to try their luck against Dusty, who still looked alert and ready for a fight.

Slowly but surely, the mob dispersed and began heading back to Toontown.

One of the police officers, glad the struggle was over, turned to Dusty and gave him an appreciative bow of the head, which Dusty returned in kind, putting the Megaphone away. They all then began to spread out across the field, taking in the sight of the couple thousand or so piles of scrap metal. No doubt they were going to file a report on this attack. After all, cogs never attacked Toons at their own homes!

Dusty then turned to Snappy and Fluttershy, who were still hiding behind the large tree.

"It's alright, you guys. The mob is gone. You can come out now." He called to the two, and they quietly peeked their heads out. No angry mob. Thank goodness.

"My goodness, you're brother has powerful lungs." Fluttershy commented, stepping out from behind the tree and yawning. After that huge battle, she was ready for some sleep.

Snappy just nodded to her in reply, yawning himself. He needed rest, too.

"You sound like you need some sleep. Why don't you head back to the infirmary? There's still one bed empty." Snappy told her, giving her a thumbs up, before heading over to join Dusty, who was currently twirling his billy club in his hand and talking to one of the officers who had witnessed the battle.

Fluttershy wasn't going to lie; she was worn to the bone. With one last look at Dusty and Snappy, she turned and headed back toward the building, closing the door upon entering.

Penny and Penelope were in the two beds across the way from her. They were lying in complete and utter silence. Either they were fast asleep or still passed out. Fluttershy couldn't tell.

Removing the gag pouch and Laff meter, she placed them down on the bedside table, along with the Shticker book, jellybean jar and portable hole and climbed back onto the bed she had been resting in before. If she thought she was tired before, she must have been mistaken, because this time, she was out like a light in only a couple of seconds. With any luck, her dreams wouldn't be as disturbing this time.

* * *

Dusty Bumblejinks and all associated characters are owned and copyright by Bulldozer Studios.

Fluttershy, My Little Pony and all associated characters are owned and copyright by Hasbro.

Toontown and all associated characters, including the cogs, are owned and copyright by The Walt Disney Company.


	7. 6 Visiting Melody

**_\- The next morning -_**

Fluttershy sat up and stretched out upon waking up the next morning. She felt surprisingly refreshed, which was odd, considering what she had been doing the prior night. She looked over and noticed Penny and Penelope weren't there. They must have already woken up and left. She hoped they were doing well; The Cogs had left both of them with rather nasty injuries the prior night.

 _"I'm lucky I wasn't injured myself last night."_ Fluttershy thought to herself, rubbing her eyes and sliding off of the bed. She felt full of energy; though her right arm was still a little sore after all the pie throwing. She wondered how Dusty must feel after entire days of slinging pies at robots like that. Perhaps it was something you grew immune to in time.

She looked up at the clock over the doorway. Only eight in the morning. A little early for her, but she didn't mind. She still felt refreshed.

She heard a knock on the doorway and saw Snappy entering the room. He smiled warmly at her.

"Good morning. Did you have a good rest?" He asked her, strolling past her and putting some medicine away in one of the cabinets. No doubt he had just been using it to heal either his, or one of the other's injuries.

"Yes, I did. Thanks for providing me a place to sleep for the night." She said kindly, before stretching back and yawning again, then rubbing her eyes.

Snappy cracked a smile at her, happy with how well she was doing after the enormous battle from the prior night.

"No problem. I'm just glad you're alright. That was a pretty heated fight last night. Between a horde of Cogs and yet another angry mob..." Snappy rattled on, before exhaling lightly to stop himself. He was not looking forward to going into Toontown today, where there would likely be even more angry mobs waiting for him.

Fluttershy was wondering about something after hearing that.

"Um, do big battles like that happen often?" She asked curiously, watching as Snappy fixed the other two beds and looked over at her with an eyebrow raised.

"Not really. Every once in a while, yes, but it's been a good year or so since I saw a battle like that one." Snappy answered, stepping past Fluttershy and into the other room, and out of the building.

Fluttershy, after collecting her things off the bedside table, as well as her pink bag, followed after him.

Dusty was outside, overlooking the scene of the battle in the field outside the Bumblejinks estate. The obliterated remains of almost three thousand cogs littered the ground, although the hole in the ground and the missing section of fence from Mildew's TNT blast had been repaired, no doubt thanks to Dusty. A bunch of Toons had come out to survey the scene, while the police supervised them, no doubt ready to spring into action in case any of them showed any sign of going after Snappy. One of the Toons was wearing the same purple battle outfit as Dusty.

"So Dusty, what's the word?" Snappy asked his older brother as he came to a stop right next to him, Fluttershy right behind him.

Fluttershy looked out over the remains of the Cog hoard and felt her eyes widen. It hadn't felt like she and everyone else had destroyed that many Cogs. But then again, she hadn't been paying attention to how many Cogs Dusty was destroying.

Dusty pulled out his Shticker book and looked at a specific page inside of it.

"Well, Rosie, Penny and Penelope were pretty beat up after last night, but they've all made a full recovery. The Toon Resistance came out to see how bad the damage was, but they've made no comment yet on the situation." Dusty reported, before turning to Snappy and smiling at him. "The good news is, nobody was hurt in the attack on Toontown Central, so it looks like only our three friends were injured last night. Good for us."

Snappy looked slightly hopeful at the news.

"And what about that angry mob?" Snappy asked, taking note of how happy Dusty seemed to be.

"Good news there, too. The Toontown Police managed to convince them not to come back for the rest of the night. Though I'm sure none of them wanted anything to do with us after last night's fight." The older dog said to his brother, closing his Shticker book and looking back at the small building. "We're pretty lucky, Snappy. Things could have easily turned nasty last night."

"Don't remind me." Snappy replied, counting in his mind the number of ways their situation could have gone from bad to complete crud storm the prior night.

Dusty then turned to Fluttershy and Snappy and smiled at them.

"Part of the reason why we came out relatively unscathed is because of your guys expert teamwork. You guys put up one heck of a fight, you know." Dusty said, giving both Snappy and Fluttershy a thumbs up, which made Snappy chuckle and Fluttershy blush.

"Aww, it was no problem, bro."

"Um, t-thank you."

Dusty just chuckled at them, before pulling out a pocket watch, snapping it open and gazing closely at it with a calculating look on his face.

"Well, Snappy, there's business to be done today. All of it big and none of it easy." He told his brother, before snapping the pocket watch closed, and then turning to address Fluttershy. "And number one on the priority list is safeguarding you to Melody's. She told you to come see her at daybreak, right?"

Fluttershy nodded at him, wiping a small leaf off her skirt.

"Um, yes, she did ask me to come see her this morning." She replied, eager to go and see Melody. The sooner she could get home, the better.

Dusty clapped his hands together.

"Well then, we better get started, then. There's much to do today and I want to get an early start." Dusty said, turning around and strolling away toward the gate, twirling his police baton the entire way.

Snappy then ran a hand over his stomach, which had just let out a grumbling sound.

"Are we going to have breakfast first?" Snappy asked his older brother, who simply did the hand-wave motion.

"We'll eat at Melody's." The older dog said, which made Snappy frown in disappointment. Fluttershy just giggled lightly.

"Well, I guess we better get going." Snappy said, as he started toward his older brother, Fluttershy right behind him. Along the way, they noticed Daffy nearby hitting a mound of dirt with his shovel, laughing like a maniac the entire time. Fluttershy just raised an eyebrow at him, as if she didn't understand him. She didn't think that was how one used a shovel.

"Um, where exactly is Melody?" Fluttershy asked Snappy, noticing there wasn't another house in the nearby area where Melody lived. There were only houses for Dusty, Snappy, Daffy and Rosie, who was currently watering the gag trees.

"She lives separated from Toontown, mainly because of her nature and her powers. She rarely ever goes into town, and even then she usually wears a more casual outfit." Snappy answered, walking past Dusty, who was currently looking out at the horizon as if looking for Cogs, and opening the gate. "Toons don't have powers like hers, as I'm sure you've noticed, so she has to live separated from Toontown. She doesn't want people bugging her to use her powers to help them with their problems."

Fluttershy thought about that, walking through the gate as Snappy held it open for her and Dusty, before he closed it behind them.

"I wonder why she helped me, then. I'm nothing but a stranger to her." Fluttershy wondered out loud, a puzzled look on her face. If she was as reserved as Snappy said she was, why had she decided to help Fluttershy, who was a complete and utter stranger to her?

Snappy pondered that for a moment, before giving Fluttershy a thoughtful look.

"She may not go into Toontown very often, but when she does, she makes it a priority to help innocent Toons who are suffering from some kind of serious problem. And to be honest, it doesn't get much worse then what you're going through." Snappy told her, which left her pondering and puzzling once again.

"She's one of the sweetest Toons you'll ever meet. Everyone who knows her knows that." Dusty said to Snappy and Fluttershy, getting their attention, before turning around and motioning for them to follow him. "We better get going. Follow me."

Snappy and Fluttershy followed along behind him, heading north and away from Toontown, keeping wary eyes peeled for any sign of trouble.

"Where exactly are we going?" Fluttershy asked, keeping an eye on their surroundings. She noticed they were heading north and toward The Brrrgh. There was no mistaking that snow globe-like atmosphere that didn't exist anywhere else in the town. She then realized that the Bumblejinks estate must have been located near Donald's Dock, and furthermore, the forest where she had first encountered the cogs.

"Melody's place." Dusty replied, looking at a small map that lead to a specific place on the snowy hills bordering The Brrrgh and Donald's Dreamland and peering around for any sign of trouble.

* * *

 ** _\- Bossbot Headquarters -_**

Mystery was throwing a major temper tantrum after hearing about his assault on both Toontown Central AND the Bumblejinks estate falling to pieces. The other cogs in the room all watched their boss with baited breath; was he going to order their deaths for failing such a simple task?

"Tell me again, Mildew, just so I can confirm that I'm hearing this correctly. How did the assault go?" Mystery asked his right-hand bear once again, glaring at her with pure venom in his gaze.

"It blew up in my face. Literally." Mildew grumbled in reply, half of her face and her right arm now covered in bandages, her destroyed TNT cannon lying on the desk in front of her.

Mystery let out a primal roar, slamming his fist into the desk.

"How in the name of Mike did the Toon Resistance know about our attack on Toontown Central!?" Mystery shouted, furious over his latest failure.

Mildew simply shrugged.

"No idea, sir. Perhaps Toon HQ has upgraded their equipment and they're better able to track our cogs movements? That's the only explanation I can come up with." Mildew replied, still sour over the destruction of her TNT cannon. Not to mention the injuries she had sustained.

The brown cat remained on his chair for a short while, breathing heavily as if trying to control himself, before standing up and walking away toward his chambers.

"I need to lie down for a while. Come see me later." He said as he closed the door behind him, still enraged over his cogs latest failure. He needed some time to plan out his next move, and a power nap seemed like the perfect way to do that.

Mildew just sighed, crossed her arms and shook her head.

"Truly, these are not glorious times for us." She muttered to herself, before picking up the remains of her TNT cannon and carrying it off to Mysteries lab. She figured she may as well get started on repairing it while Mystery slept. "I think I'm going to make it bigger this time..."

* * *

 ** _\- Twenty minutes later -_**

The past twenty minutes flew past before Fluttershy had realized it. She, Dusty and Snappy were now standing right next to the snowy hills that bordered The Brrrgh. They were a lot bigger up close as opposed to how they looked from across town, towering over her completely. Trees covered in snow, among other kinds of plant life, were scattered all over the area.

She then noticed a couple of things that made her raise an eyebrow. She had just started walking through the snow without any protection from the cold, but she didn't feel cold in the slightest. Not only that, but despite a minor chill in the air, she didn't feel very cold at all despite the snowy surroundings, and despite the fact she was walking right into what looked like a snow storm.

Dusty must have noticed as well, because he had just stopped where he was and put a finger on his chin, gazing down at his map for a moment, bringing Fluttershy and Snappy to a halt right behind him.

"Hmm, the air isn't as cold as it usually is." Dusty commented, before rolling up the map and putting it away in one of his pockets. "Melody must already be expecting us."

Fluttershy gave him a confused look, as he quickly looked around to make sure nobody else was watching, then walked over to a wall of ice blocking the entrance to a nearby cave.

"Here we are." Dusty said with a smile, before pulling out his police baton and tapping the ice on a specific spot. This was clearly a "Sweet Spot" of some sort, because the ice magically vanished in a puff of blue smoke.

 _"Just like that mirror in the forest."_ Fluttershy thought to herself. There was no mistake about it. This had to be where Melody lived. After all, it's where Dusty's map had led them.

Dusty ushered them into the cave, and once they were inside, he turned around and clapped his hands once. In another puff of blue smoke, the wall of ice reappeared.

"Just to make sure nobody can follow us in." Dusty said, nodding his head once at the wall of ice, before the three turned and continued down the dimly lit cave. Torches sat in place along the corridor, burning light blue flames. For some reason, Fluttershy had the idea that they were cold instead of hot. It made her give them a funny look as she passed them.

A moment or so later, they reached the end of the corridor and entered into a large room.

"Melody? We're here!" Snappy called out, looking around the room for any sign of their blue feline friend.

Fluttershy gasped at seeing the large room. More blue torches lined the walls, and at the top was something that resembled a large glass dome. She then realized it must have been some kind of magic that made the ceiling look like the sky outside. Tiny snowflakes were falling from the ceiling, and disappearing into thin air about a foot or so over Dusty's head, who was the tallest of the three.

This room was much more well-lit then the corridor that had just walked through, and Fluttershy could clearly make out the light blue walls with white snowflake designs all across it, and the silver tiled floor. The snowflakes appeared to be glowing in the light cast by the torches. In the middle of the room, there sat what appeared to be a large pool of water with yet another snowflake floating in the middle of it. Seven small pedestals surrounded the pool, each of which had a shape carved into the sides and the top of them. She could clearly make out a snowflake on one of the pedestals, and what appeared to be a star on another.

And there, walking out of one of the other three doorways that branched off of this room, came Melody, still wearing her white dress and carrying her long staff. She looked as sweet and sage-like as ever.

Dusty removed his hat and gave Melody a bow as she walked over to them.

"Hello there, Melody. How are you doing today?" He asked her in a kind and friendly tone, putting his hat back on and chuckling lightly. Melody chuckled as well as she came to a stop in front of them.

"Dusty, you don't have to be so gentleman-like with me. But I'm doing fine, thanks." She replied, smiling happily, before giving him a worried expression. "I heard your estate was attacked last night. Did anything happen?"

Dusty shook his head reassuringly.

"Only Penny, Penelope and Rosie. And they've since made a full recovery. We were lucky. It could have turned ugly just like that." Dusty said, snapping his fingers to prove his point. He then frowned and pointed at Fluttershy. "Mildew was there. She said they were after her. They retreated after she blew up her TNT cannon."

Melody gave Fluttershy a calculating look, before sighing sadly.

"I guess it was only a matter of time before Mystery came after you, little Fluttershy. I was hoping he wouldn't rear his ugly head until after we'd recovered the seven Power Medals." She said with a sad expression on her face.

Fluttershy gave Melody a curious look. Something about those words "Power Medals" made something tick in her mind.

"Power Medals? What are those?" She asked, stepping closer to Melody. The blue cat looked down at Fluttershy and gave her a warm smile, before stepping over to the pool with the snowflake inside of it.

"Come over here." She said, motioning for Fluttershy to come over.

Fluttershy hesitated at first, but then she slowly walked over and stood next to Melody, who put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's only a matter of time before all seven of them are assembled here, so I think it's about time I explained a few things." The blue feline told her, before setting her staff down and snapping her fingers, causing an image to appear in the pool in place of the snowflake. Fluttershy looked into the pool and felt her eyes widen.

The image showed seven shining, glowing medals, each one a different color and fixed to a golden string, spinning slowly in a circle. They looked about the size of her hand. They were mostly transparent, except for a shape in the middle. Fluttershy immediately drew parallel to the Elements of Harmony; that's what this image reminded her of the most.

"The Seven Power Medals. They made up everything that ever existed in my home world. At least, until the day I was forced to leave and come here in order to protect them." Melody told Fluttershy, taking note of how Fluttershy's gaze never left the image in the pool. "They're immensely powerful. Just one can power an entire world the size of the one you came from for hundreds of thousands of years, and grant unlimited power to anyone who can learn to tap into their energy. So you can only imagine what can happen if you found all seven of them."

They sounded more powerful than even a hundred sets of the Elements of Harmony. Somehow it unnerved Fluttershy, knowing such vast, immense power had existed for so long without any of her friends ever knowing about it. What would they say if they found out about all of this? She didn't even want to think about what Twilight Sparkle would do to figure out their true nature. If it was even possible to learn such a thing.

"Courage, Strength, Compassion, Honor, Wisdom, Trust and Patience. Each one represents a different virtue, reflecting the hearts of the people who created them. And I, of course, had a hand in their creation."

Fluttershy turned sharply to look at Melody, as she reached into her dress and pulled out a shining medal. It matched the appearance of one of the medals that was still spinning around in the image inside the water. Aqua blue and transparent, apart from the light blue snowflake design in the middle. It was attached to a golden string.

"I was the one who created the Power Medal of Wisdom. It's been in my care ever since." Melody told her, before putting the medal away in her dress pocket. This got Fluttershy thinking. If she was the one who created the Power Medal of Wisdom, that must mean she must be extremely wise, perhaps even more so then Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia combined. But what about the other Medals?

"Um, I'm just curious... what happened to the, uh..." She cut herself off, unable to find the words she was looking for. But Melody understood fully what she was about to ask, and gave a tragic sigh.

Melody snapped her fingers again, and the image in the pool showed a large green and blue planet in space. It looked nice, peaceful and beautiful, until out of nowhere, the entire planet suddenly exploded, causing Fluttershy to gasp sharply and take a step back.

"The other Power Medal creators were, uh... less fortunate then I was. Somebody stole the seven Medals and abused their power, eventually leading to my home world's destruction. I just barely managed to escape with the Medals, but there was nothing left of my old home." Melody explained with a heavy sigh. She never liked bringing up how she came to live in Toontown, mainly due to the dark nature of her backstory. This caused Fluttershy to give her one of her most upsetting expressions.

"Oh my goodness... that's just absolutely..." Words failed Fluttershy once again, as she was unable to find the words to finish her sentence. She had heard of many terrible things in the past, but never anything on THAT scale and scope. She was right in her suspicion that Melody wasn't from this world. But the only reason she was here was because her home world had been obliterated, all because someone had misused the Power Medals.

Before Fluttershy could stop herself, another question was already about to come sliding out of her mouth like Pinkie Pie when she was ice skating. But it was as if Melody could read her mind. And who knows; maybe she was.

"The Power Medals are safe now. Or, at least, as safe as they can get with that crazy Mystery running around. But last time I checked, they were hidden away where he'll never find them without mine." Melody said, giving Fluttershy a reassuring smile. "And besides, ever since I came here, nobody can use them properly anymore, except me and Dusty over there."

Fluttershy cast a quick look at Dusty, who was still standing by the doorway with Snappy, watching this entire conversation with a content look in his eyes. Snappy had his back to them, looking at a page in the Toontown Survival Guide and muttering nonstop under his breath.

Melody then sighed and got Fluttershy's attention again, who turned around to look at Melody again.

"But alas, it seems it's come time to bring those seven Medals out of hiding. I was hoping we wouldn't have to do so for a little while longer, after the last time we had to use them. But it seems in this case, we have no choice." The blue cat said, before snapping her fingers again.

What the image showed next made Fluttershy gasp once again. This time out of joy.

"That's your home, isn't it?" Melody asked the younger cat, smiling at the hopeful look on Fluttershy's face.

There was no mistaking what the image was now showing. It was Ponyville!

"Oh, yes! That IS my home!" Fluttershy exclaimed, a hopeful tone in her voice. But her hope quickly dwindled as the image in the pool suddenly disappeared, once again replaced by the snowflake.

"I do believe it IS possible to send you home, Fluttershy. Back to your friends, and the world you know. But I'm afraid it's simply not possible at this time." Melody said, turning around and walking over to the pedestal with the snowflake design on it.

Fluttershy gave Melody a tragic look.

"It isn't?" She asked.

Melody once again took out her Power Medal and placed it on the pedestal. The snowflake designs on it shimmered to life and began to glow brightly as soon as the Medal touched the top of the pedestal.

"Like I said, I've never attempted to send others to other worlds before. I've traveled to other worlds myself a few times, yes, but I always had all seven Power Medals here, keeping the gateway open for me so I could return. And even then, that was years ago." Melody explained, earning yet another confused look from Fluttershy, before explaining further: "I don't want to try and send you home with only one Power Medal. There's too great a risk that something might go wrong. And besides, the portal has been dormant for a very long time. It will take large amounts of energy to bring it back to life."

Fluttershy gave her another hopeful look at what she said next.

"But I feel confident that once we do have all seven Medals in hand, we will be able to use the portal to get you home." Melody said happily, giving Fluttershy yet another warm smile.

"Where are the other Medals?" Fluttershy asked, only to get another disappointing sigh from Melody.

"Well, to best explain it, the Power Medals are like magnets. They have the power to attract one another in times of great danger. But in times of peace, they also have the power to separate from one another, often to the point where they fly away and vanish somewhere. Nobody knows where those seven Medals are now, except this one." Melody told Fluttershy, pointing to the Power Medal of Wisdom.

Fluttershy felt her spirits fall once again.

"They-They're gone?" She asked, now feeling thunderstruck. At least until Dusty spoke up.

"They're not gone for good." Dusty told Fluttershy as he walked over to her. She looked up at him with a confused look on her face.

"Uh, what do you mean?" She asked, as Dusty walked past her and stepped up to the pedestal where one of the other Power Medals went.

"Like Melody said, the Power Medals are like magnets, with the power to attract each other. Snappy over there developed a special device we can use to track them down about a year ago. Me and him have used it loads of time to find the seven Medals, no matter where in the Tooniverse they are." Dusty explained, sawing the air with a hand to emphasize his point.

Snappy, upon hearing his name, reached into one of his pockets and pulled out said device. It was only about twice as big as a Power Medal, but it looked very advanced. Snappy held up the device and smiled happily. It had the words "Medal-Detector-5000" on it.

"With that device, I feel it's only a matter of time before all the Power Medals are found. With any luck, we'll have you home before too long." Melody told Fluttershy, restoring the younger cats hope once again.

Fluttershy looked down and allowed a single tear to fall from her eye.

"I really have to get home. I have to let my friends know I'm alright. I don't know what they'll do if I never come back. I miss them all so much..." Fluttershy said, letting another tear drop from her eye. She was so worried about all her friends. What were they doing? What were they thinking? Were they trying to find her? Could they?

Melody walked up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I know, I understand what you're feeling. I've felt its terrible, ugly cousin. But at least you have a home to return to. And we're going to help you get there." Melody told her, giving her yet another warm smile.

Fluttershy sniffed once, and wiped another tear from her eye, giving Melody a happy smile.

"Thank you... all of you..." And for the third time that day, words failed Fluttershy. She was so happy to have found such help and such support in this dire situation.

Maybe there was hope for her. Maybe there was a chance she could get home to her friends. And maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't end up being sent home a lifeless corpse.

Melody gave her another happy smile, before looking over at Dusty.

"When are you going to begin searching for the Power Medals? The last I remember, there was one on the shoreline just south of Donald's Dock." She asked him, as he and Snappy looked down at the Medal tracking device. He looked up at Melody when she addressed him.

"Today, I hope so. However, I have to go and talk to the Toon Resistance, so I'm counting on Snappy and Fluttershy to find the first one without me." Dusty told her, earning surprised looks from Snappy and Fluttershy.

"Wait... us? Alone?" Snappy asked, not sure if he had heard that correctly. Was Dusty really about to send him and Fluttershy out to track down a Power Medal without him? "What if the cogs show up again?"

Dusty chuckled, before putting a hand on Snappy's shoulder.

"The cogs are still recovering from last night's battle. You probably won't be seeing many of them out there. Many high level ones, at least. You and Fluttershy should be fine." Dusty told his younger brother, before giving him a smile and a thumbs up. "Can I count on you to get to that Power Medal before Mystery does?"

Snappy looked worriedly to Fluttershy, who gave him a fearful expression for a brief second, but after a moment she gave him a more firm expression and nodded her head at him, as if telling him that she was ready to go get that Power Medal when he was.

Snappy paused to think for a moment, and then looked back up to his brother and smiled, nodding his head firmly. Dusty let out a hearty laugh.

"That's the spirit, Snappy!" Dusty exclaimed, clapping his hands together. Fluttershy couldn't help but smile happily at the two.

Melody smiled at them as well, then picked up the Power Medal of Wisdom and carried it over to the two Bumblejinks. Dusty and Snappy gave her their full attention as she approached.

"You'll need this Power Medal to get that device to work, I'm sure." She said, handing the Power Medal to Snappy.

"Thanks, Melody." Snappy said to her, as he took the Medal and affixed it into the device quickly and turned it on.

Fluttershy came over as the device came to life. A large red arrow on the top sprung up from the device and pointed toward the corridor they had previously walked through. Fluttershy turned to look down the corridor.

"It looks like it's ready to go." Snappy reported happily, pleased with how well it still worked, before turning it off and putting it away. There was no doubt in his mind that it was going to be absolutely vital for finding those other Power Medals. And the sooner they found them, the better.

Melody then turned around and headed toward one of the doorways that branched off of the large room they were in. She turned around upon reaching said doorway and addressed the others in the room.

"Come, let's have some breakfast. It's going to be a long, difficult day, I'm sure." She told the others, instantly getting Snappy's attention, as his stomach had just growled again.

"You bet!" Snappy said, hurrying over to where Melody was standing, earning laughs from her, Dusty and Fluttershy.

* * *

 ** _\- Half an hour later -_**

It had been half an hour since they arrived at Melody's sanctuary. Dusty and Snappy were currently standing over the kitchen table looking at a map of Toontown and the surrounding areas. There was a red circle drawn on the shorelines just south of Donald's Dock, where Melody was sure there was a Power Medal, and a couple of more were drawn outside of the town itself.

Fluttershy, however, was currently wandering down one of the other corridors, trying to find where Melody was, who had disappeared about ten minutes ago. Luckily, it didn't take Fluttershy long to find her.

Melody was on her knees in what appeared to be some sort of shrine-like chamber. She was breathing extremely slowly and had her eyes closed, concentrating on her meditation. The room itself was truly a sight to behold, one that left Fluttershy utterly speechless. Large, pure white walls with more blue torches lining the walls, and with a small ring of water making a circle around a central platform, which was filled with pure green grass and bright, colorful flowers. The ceiling once again reflected the sky outside.

 _"I do hope that young one will be alright. Mystery is almost certainly going to be after her after what's happened."_ Melody thought to herself, feeling herself coming out of her trance. She just couldn't seem to focus for any longer than ten minutes at a time, which she found very odd, considering she's usually able to sit and meditate for an entire hour every day.

Deciding that her meditation could wait until later, when she was in a better state of mind, she got up and turned to the doorway, only to see Fluttershy standing there watching her. She let out a light giggle and gave Fluttershy a happy smile.

"Were you standing there long?" Melody asked, walking over to her.

Fluttershy shook her head.

"No, I wasn't. Um, what were you doing?" She asked the taller cat, who had stopped next to her and crouched down to her level.

"Meditation. I do it every day." Melody explained, gazing around the small room she had visited thousands of times. "It helps to relax me. As well as better control my powers."

Fluttershy puzzled about that for a moment. Meditation? She had heard of the practice, but had hardly ever seen it herself. She knew it was often used as a means for one to calm themselves down, or seek inner closure on a difficult subject, though she did often question its effectiveness.

But what did she mean, better control her powers? She opted to ask her about that, but ultimately decided against it. It was none of her business, anyway.

"Hey, Fluttershy! Come on! We're heading out!"

Fluttershy heard Snappy calling her name and turned around. He and Dusty were standing at the other end of the corridor, waiting for her.

"Looks like it's time for you to head out." Melody said to Fluttershy, standing up and backing away from the younger cat. "Be careful out there, Fluttershy. And watch out for Mystery."

Fluttershy looked up at Melody and nodded to her.

"Thank you." She said, turning around and walking away toward Dusty and Snappy. She waved to Melody happily upon reaching the pair, before turning and following them back down the corridor and out of sight.

Melody sighed as she watched them go, picking up her staff from the ground next to her.

"If only they knew, maybe all this could have been avoided." She said grimly, before turning around and walking back into the middle of the room. Maybe she could finish her meditation now. After all, she needed SOMETHING to take her mind off of what was troubling her.

* * *

Dusty Bumblejinks and all associated characters are owned and copyright by Bulldozer Studios.

Fluttershy, My Little Pony and all associated characters are owned and copyright by Hasbro.

Toontown and all associated characters, including the cogs, are owned and copyright by The Walt Disney Company.


	8. 7 Coastline Chaos

_"And so, their journey to obtain the seven Power Medals began. I knew they were scared, but Snappy has more heart than anyone I've ever known. And Fluttershy had her motivation to get those seven Medals and return to her home._

 _I knew they were about to face the toughest challenge of their young life's. They would either succeed, and Snappy would redeem himself for his past mistake and get Fluttershy home safe and sound, or fail, and allow both himself and Fluttershy to bite the dust."_

* * *

 ** _\- At the coast -_**

It was now getting close to ten. Snappy and Fluttershy had spent the better part of the past forty minutes exploring the coastline just off Donald's Dock, all the while dodging out of sight whenever other Toons or a cog showed up. The rest of Toontown was still on the hunt for Snappy, and the cogs were no doubt on the lookout for Fluttershy. After all, Mildew had seen her in her current form. It wouldn't be too hard to supply the cogs with a physical description of her.

Fluttershy noticed that the coastline was relatively deserted the further away they got from Toontown. They only saw two Toons while looking for the Power Medal, and they were easily avoided.

"Must be our lucky day." Snappy said absent-mindedly, gazing down at the Medal-Detector-5000, which was currently pointing toward a tall hill and cliff that bordered the ocean with the forest surrounding Chip and Dales Acorn Acres.

Fluttershy wasn't concerned with their luck at that time, however. She was currently gazing out over the ocean, amazed by how well the waves sounded to her. She had noticed how much more attuned her hearing was before, but now more than ever, it was as if someone had stuck the world's most powerful magic hearing aid into her ears.

"I wonder how I'm able to hear so well. I can hear things happening from half a mile away." She wondered out loud, getting Snappy's attention. He looked up from the Detector and gazed around the area where it was pointing.

"I read and researched about that once. Cats naturally have better hearing then Ponies. They can hear things coming from almost twice as far." Snappy told her, looking back down at the Detector. "If I were to guess, I'd say Melody enhanced you're hearing on purpose so you could hear danger coming from further away, probably to compensate for taking you're wings away. I bet she enhanced you're sense of smell as well. Cats are very sensitive to many things Ponies aren't."

Fluttershy gave him an understanding expression. He was right. She had noticed her sense of smell was much stronger as well. The scent of the crystal-clear ocean and the not-so-far-away forest trees was a refreshing breath of fresh air to her. Granted, it was nothing new to her, but for some reason she couldn't explain even if she tried, they smelt very inviting and cheerful.

Also, maybe it was just her, but at that moment, something about the way the sun felt at that particular moment, along with the nice, gentle breeze, made her stop in her tracks behind Snappy, who had stopped to pull out his Shticker book and look at the map.

She stretched back and took in a deep breath, enjoying the smell of the clear ocean and trees and the feeling of the warm sun and the gentle breeze.

 _"A Pegasi could get used to this..."_ She thought to herself. Maybe being a Toon wasn't so bad after all.

...That is, until a most foul smell invaded her nose, making her gasp and recoil on the spot.

Snappy turned around to face her, looking confused.

"What is it?" He asked her, closing his Shticker book and putting it away as Fluttershy regained her composure. She had a disgusted look on her face.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just smelt something awful just now." Fluttershy said, trying to identify the source of the smell. She could find only two words to describe what it was:

Big Business.

"Oil. The kind that fuels big machines." Snappy said quietly, who had just detected the smell himself. He suddenly had a serious look on his face. "Which means the cogs can't be far."

That was the last thing Fluttershy wanted to hear. In all honesty, she had seen enough of those foul cogs to last the rest of her life.

Snappy drew his cream pie cannon from his pack and held it ready in his right hand, his left still gripping the Medal-Detector-5000, which had started to beep lightly.

"We must be getting close." Snappy said to Fluttershy, as he quickly hurried off in the direction the device was pointing.

Fluttershy took a moment to look around the area, trying to pinpoint exactly where that foul smell of oil had come from. Failing that, she turned and quickly hurried off after Snappy.

The beeping from the Medal-Detector-5000 was getting faster by the second. They were closing in on it!

Snappy smiled widely, coming to a dead stop at a corner which led into a cave. Fluttershy came up behind him, looking slightly uncertain. She wasn't sure about exploring a dark cave without a source of light. Especially in a world she had never been to before.

The device was beeping very quickly, and pointing into the cave. They were getting closer to the medal.

"Just inside of that cave." Snappy said to Fluttershy, checking to make sure the device was pointing in the right direction, and not at the cliff above them. Nodding at the Detector, he turned to Fluttershy. "Ready?"

Fluttershy, however, remained in place, looking fearful.

"Um... I'm not very, um, fond of, uh, dark caves." Fluttershy stammered. She wasn't sure, but something about this cave told her not to go in, and that she would regret it if she did. After all, weren't dark caves in different worlds typically trouble?

Snappy just smiled at her.

"No need to worry, I've been to this cave before. There's nothing dangerous inside." He told her, stepping around the corner and into the cave.

She waited for a moment, listening for any sign of trouble.

"Come on!" She heard Snappy call out to her.

With a deep breath and a fist clenched, she slowly stepped around the corner herself and into the cave.

And gasped in shock when she saw what was inside.

"Oh my goodness..." She silently exclaimed to herself, stepping past a smiling Snappy, who was currently putting his cannon away, to see the rest of the cave.

It was an enclosed alcove, inside which was a pond of warm, steaming water. Fluttershy realized it must be some kind of hot spring, like the spa back home. There was some kind of strange, white, glowing flowers all along the walls, which was giving the entire place a calming, peaceful sort of atmosphere. The way they were glowing looked just like the white snowflake designs she had seen along the walls of Melody's sanctuary. Maybe this is where they came from?

Fluttershy couldn't help but smile upon seeing the place. It looked very relaxing and inviting.

Snappy stepped up behind her, still holding the Medal-Detector-5000 and smiling upon seeing her reaction to the cave.

"See? It's not scary in here. It's a pretty neat little place." Snappy said to her, lowering the Detector and gazing around the area. He could gaze around this place a hundred times and never get bored of it. And he knew people loved to collect these kinds of flowers to make beautiful decorations. It was just their luck that this wasn't the only place they could be found, so this place was pretty much unknown to the majority of Toontown. It was a great place to unwind and relax for a while.

Fluttershy approached one of the flowers and touched the petals. It felt very smooth and soft, and full of life. It filled her with a sense of joy she hadn't felt in a very long time. She had never encountered anything like it before.

"It feels so nice here." She exclaimed, watching as another large glowing flower fell off its stem and land on her head, which caused her to chuckle. She picked it off her head and stuck it in her hair behind her right ear.

"I know those flowers never wilt, so it's easy to see why everyone wants them for decorations so badly." Snappy said to her, raising the device again and clicking the button.

And at that very moment, the Medal-Detector-5000 began beeping wildly, and pointing at the ground right next to one of those glowing flowers. Snappy smiled again. Fluttershy turned to face him.

"Sounds like its right here!" He told Fluttershy, pulling out a small shovel from one of his many pockets.

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow and walked over to him, curious as to what he was about to do.

"It's buried?" She asked him, looking down at the small mound of soft dirt that the Detector was pointing at.

"Looks like it. But no worries. I can dig it up." Snappy told her, as he stood up and put the Medal-Detector-5000 away, and started digging away at the mound of soft dirt, searching for the Power Medal.

While he was doing that, Fluttershy took another look around the area. She could just imagine herself and her friends hanging out and having fun here, talking about this or that.

Her thoughts then wandered to Princess Celestia and Discord. Surely, Twilight Sparkle had informed them about what had happened by now. Wad Princess Celestia looking for Fluttershy using her powers? Was a search party, no doubt lead by Discord, combing every square inch of Equestria trying to find her? She hoped this wasn't the case on both accounts, as she knew both efforts would just be a waste of time. That likely wouldn't stop them from trying, though.

A few seconds later, they heard a clanging sound, and they both gasped loudly. Tossing the shovel aside, Snappy reached down and started pawing through the dirt. Fluttershy stood next to him, peering down into the hole with baited breath.

A moment or so later, and a bright purple flash from inside the hole caught their attention. Fluttershy covered her eyes with her hand as Snappy reached inside and extracted the Power Medal.

Fluttershy uncovered her eyes and looked down at the Medal, letting out another low gasp. This one was dark purple around the outside, while the center was a lighter shade of purple. The colors reminded her of Twilight Sparkle. The Medal had, what looked to be, a curvy spade in the middle of it. It was attached to the same golden string the Power Medal of Wisdom had.

"The Power Medal of Honor. Never thought I'd see this one again." Snappy said out loud, admiring the glowing, all-powerful object in his hand. He tossed it up to Fluttershy, hoisted himself out of the hole he had dug, and went over to retrieve his shovel.

Fluttershy let out a low, startled cry as the Medal landed in her hands. She could feel an immense power coming from the glowing object she was now holding. It was no wonder why these things were held in such high regard. Just this one Medal felt more powerful than the Elements of Harmony could ever be. It made her ponder how powerful the Medals were when they were all united.

She guessed she'd find out soon enough. After all, she had to find them all if she wanted to get home.

Fluttershy looked up at Snappy and smiled as he came over. She was one step closer to getting home.

"I sure hope the rest of them are this easy to find." She told him, tossing him the Power Medal.

"Yep. This little thing sure does the trick." Snappy said happily, holding up the Medal-Detector-5000 and putting the Power Medal of Honor away. "It's only a matter of time before we manage to get all seven. We'll have you back home before you know it."

Something about that line made Fluttershy pause and think for a moment. She wondered what her friends would think if they knew she was here, doing these things, trying to get home to them, and not lying in a roadway somewhere, alone and terrified and probably dying. She was hoping beyond hope that they were managing just fine without her around to help.

Of course, this only strengthened her resolve to get home and ensure they were alright. And she wanted to do so as soon as possible.

"Let's go and show Dusty." Snappy suggested to Fluttershy, who nodded in agreement, before turning toward the entrance to the cave.

Fluttershy looked back into the cave as they neared the entrance. She would certainly make sure to come back here at some point. After all, how often did you come across beautiful flowers like these that never wilted?

Two out of seven Power Medals and they had just started searching for them. It went without saying that Fluttershy's spirits were flying high at this point. What could possibly ruin this wonderful feeling?

The answer to that question came as the two went to step out of the cave and back onto the coast. At that very moment, the Smog Smashers dropped down from somewhere overhead and landed in front of them, startling both of them.

"Well, well, well... what do we have here?" The purple bear said with a smirk on his face, as he looked from Snappy to Fluttershy and back again.

The red mouse and green rabbit stepped up next to him, eyeing the purple Power Medal in Snappy's hand.

"Looks like someone's on a little treasure hunt. And that is quite the treasure you've got there." The blue cat said, chuckling to himself darkly. The other three all chuckled as well.

Snappy quickly pocketed the Power Medal and the Medal-Detector-5000, pulled out his cream pie cannon and stood ready. He didn't know what he was going to do here. After all, pies were no good on other Toons.

Fluttershy was quickly searching for a way out of this as well, but in the end, she came up with nothing. She highly doubted these guys would ever listen to reason, even from her. They seemed to be the hardened, criminal types that took orders from no one.

"What do you idiots want?" Snappy spat, gripping his cannon with both hands and glaring daggers at the four. Fluttershy just remained in place, still unsure of what to do.

"Well, at first, we only wanted that Power Medal." The red mouse said, crossing his arms in front of his chest and grinning darkly, sending shivers up Fluttershy's spine. "But it looks like you got a device there that can track the Power Medals. I suppose you wouldn't mind parting ways with that, too."

Snappy's eyes widened slightly at those words. They must have followed them here! And now they knew about the Medal-Detector-5000.

Snappy was still searching for a way out of this situation. He didn't want to risk losing the Medal-Detector-5000, because he knew that if he did, Fluttershy may never get home. He also didn't want to risk losing a Power Medal to these goons. He knew if he did, it would only be a matter of time before it ended up in the cogs hands.

And that was the last thing he needed; For Mystery to get his hands on another Power Medal.

Snappy shot a sideways glance at Fluttershy and lightly nodded his head, as if telling her 'Get ready to move', before fixing his gaze on the Smog Smashers again. Fluttershy fixed her gaze on them as well, a stern look on her face.

"Don't make me laugh. You couldn't get this Power Medal if I was standing still." Snappy challenged, mentally praising himself for such a witty comeback.

The Smog Smashers all looked over at him, and gave him most unpleasant expressions.

"Always got to do things the hard way, eh, little dog?" The purple bear said with venom in his tone, as he and the rest of his companions tensed up, preparing to attack.

Snappy and Fluttershy both drew a low breath and tensed up, preparing to make their moves.

"Get em', boys!" The red mouse said, and the four Smog Smashers quickly jumped forward, attempting to grab Snappy.

However, Snappy was too fast for them, and quickly engaged his jetpack, flying right over the Smog Smashers, who all collided head-first in mid-air. They crashed into the ground and slowly got to their feet, holding their heads.

"Hahaha! Nice try, boys!" Snappy taunted, before landing next to Fluttershy and lifting her up in his arms bridal-style.

"Oh!" Fluttershy exclaimed upon being picked up. She hadn't been expecting that!

"Hold on!" Snappy shouted, before engaging his jetpack once again, and flying out of the cave.

However, the green rabbit wasn't quite done yet, as he quickly pulled out an EMP detonator he had borrowed from a Bloodsucker in Lawbot Headquarters.

"Oh no, you don't..." He grumbled, as he aimed the detonator, and pushed the button.

Snappy let out a shout as his jetpack sputtered and died. Fluttershy's eyes widened as she quickly realized what was about to happen next.

Snappy and Fluttershy fell, screaming all the way, right into a parked motorboat that was right outside of the cave.

Fluttershy gasped as the pair quickly staggered to their feet. What was this boat doing here?

"Our motorboat! You idiot!" The red mouse shouted, bonking the green rabbit on the head with his fist. The green rabbit let out a yelp of pain upon being struck and dropped the EMP detonator, which shattered in two as it landed on top of a rock.

"Smooth move, dork!" The green rabbit fired back, picking up half of the broken EMP detonator and chucked it at the red mouse's head. Luckily, he was able to dodge it.

Fluttershy was looking down at the boat she and Snappy had landed in. How did this thing get here?

"Looks like the Smog Smashers rode here by boat." Snappy said, standing up and rushing over to the motors controls. "I don't know how they managed to sneak up on us, but let's borrow it and get out of here!"

Snappy started up the motor and the pair quickly rode away from the shore, narrowly missing a bundle of TNT that the purple bear threw at them. The bundle fell into the water and exploded, splashing the four thugs with saltwater.

"Nice, man. Nice." The blue cat said in a sour tone, shaking himself down, splashing his companions with even more water. "We didn't get Snappy, we didn't get the Power Medals, we didn't get his little friend, we didn't get that Medal finding device of his, AND he stole our boat! Now what'll we do!?"

The other three just shrugged cluelessly at him. His palm met his forehead as he let out a frustrated groan.

Snappy and Fluttershy watched the four as they rode away from the shore, smiling happily. They had escaped once again.

"Bon Voyage, Smog Smashers! And thanks for lending us your ride!" Snappy called to them, waving his hat in the air in farewell, before slipping it back on and sitting back down as he continued to steer the boat away from the coast. Fluttershy was breathing deeply to calm herself down, but she was still very pleased over that entire ordeal.

"Wow. That was actually fun!" Fluttershy exclaimed, laughing happily for reasons even she didn't know. Snappy just smiled happily at her, glad that she was enjoying herself.

"Yep. I got to tell you, those four idiots give failure a bad name. Even the Toon Resistance knows it." Snappy joked, as he brought the motorboat to a stop in the middle of the sea, roughly five hundred yards from shore. The coast was still visible from where they were. The Smog Smashers, however, were long gone. Snappy figured they ran off after having their boat hijacked. They never were the types to stick around after failure.

That bit about the Toon Resistance raised a question that Fluttershy had been wondering for some time. She looked over at him with a curious look in her eyes.

"Um, Snappy, if you don't mind me asking, what is the Toon Resistance?" She asked him, and quickly afterwards found herself wishing she hadn't. Snappy let out a tragic sigh and looked over at Fluttershy, a blank expression on his face.

"Only the greatest cog smashers in all of the Tooniverse. They're the elite, often carrying out extremely dangerous top-secret missions deep within the cogs home turf. Whenever they're not here in Toontown fighting off dangerous invasions, that is." Snappy explained, gazing longingly out at the sea, a frown on his face.

Fluttershy took a second to process what he had just told her, before Snappy continued.

"My brother's one of them. He joined up about two years ago after he stopped Mystery from flattening the entire Tooniverse, and he's helped them on a number of dangerous missions. He even wears their uniform." Snappy continued, now gazing down at the boat, avoiding Fluttershy's gaze. "I really want to join up with them, too. I've been training so hard to get there."

Fluttershy remained silent, listening to Snappy as he spoke about the Toon Resistance. From what she was hearing, she was able to draw a parallel to Rainbow Dash's wanting to join the Wonderbolts.

"But after everything that's happened, I doubt I'm ever going to get in now. There's no way they're going to accept someone who killed another Toon. Not even my brother can convince them otherwise..." Snappy said sadly, earning a remorseful look from Fluttershy.

"Is that you're only reason for wanting to join them?" Fluttershy asked, to which Snappy let out another sad sigh.

"I just wanted to make my brother proud. I honestly feel like he's ashamed of me, especially after that whole wormhole machine fiasco. I know he never admits it to anyone, but it's just there. I can feel it." Snappy said in a heavily distressed tone, looking out over the water and frowning sadly.

Fluttershy had to ponder his words for a moment, and she didn't like how it was sounding. From what she was able to piece together, Snappy wanted to prove himself to his older brother and make him proud by joining the Toon Resistance, but he firmly believed that his blunder on such an important mission had cost him his chance to join them, and he firmly believed that his brother was ashamed of him for it.

Something about this didn't hold water with Fluttershy. She hadn't known them long, but there was something about Dusty that told her he was very proud of his little brother, and was glad to have him as an ally in the fight against the cogs. Plus she had heard him before shouting at angry Toons for harassing Snappy, which in itself took quite a bit of respect for the person in question to do.

As for Snappy, she could already tell that he was the next hero that Toontown deserved, even if the rest of the town didn't see it that way. And he deserved to be up there right next to his brother as a member of the Toon Resistance.

Sure, he was younger and less experienced that Dusty, but as the old saying went: "You live and learn."

And she also knew that sooner or later, he'd get the chance to redeem himself for his mistake and prove himself to his brother. After all, people who deserve redemption always get it in the end, didn't they?

And besides, it was just one mistake. He really shouldn't have been letting it get him down.

"Snappy, listen. I think I said before that everyone who messes up eventually gets a chance to redeem themselves. I know you'll get your chance before long. You just have to believe in yourself, and have a little faith." She told him happily, trying to lift his spirits as best as she could.

To her surprise, Snappy actually smiled and looked at her.

"Thanks, Fluttershy. You're friends are really lucky to have you. I hope you know that." Snappy told her, giving her an appreciative nod of the head. Thank goodness he had her around to keep his morale high, especially in the face of the huge task they still had ahead of them.

Fluttershy simply blushed and looked away, giggling happily, mentally praising herself for having helped him once again. She wasn't about to admit it to herself, but her natural ability for seeing the best in those who can't see it in themselves was working it's magic today.

Fluttershy was just about to ask Snappy something else, but she soon found herself looking over the boat and at the water. She could see various kinds of fish swimming around in the crystal clear water, but these fish were like none she had ever seen before.

There was a small green one with a clown's nose and hat on, which honked its nose as it swam past. Another one looked like a polar bear, except with a snorkel and diving mask on. There was another one which looked like a starfish, except it had a full head of black hair and was holding a microphone.

Fluttershy gasped as it launched itself out of the water and landed on the side of the boat.

"Thank you very much!" It said in a very deep and pleasing tone, making Fluttershy raise an eyebrow at it, before jumping back into the water. Snappy just chuckled.

"Ah, those Starfish. They get me every time." He said in a cheerful tone, gazing out first at the open sea, then over to the coast, and then to Fluttershy, who was still looking curiously into the water at the various kinds of fish.

Something then caught her attention. Among the fish in the sea, there was something that look distinctly like a giant red cats' eye.

And to her shock and surprise, it blinked and looked back at her!

She let out a scream and reeled back from the edge of the boat, eyes wide with alarm. Snappy looked over at her in surprise.

"What is it?" He asked, stepping over next to her and peering over into the water himself.

"There's something in there!" She squeaked in a high-pitched, fearful tone, not wanting to move from her spot. She didn't know what that thing was, but something told her it wasn't friendly.

Snappy looked around in the water, trying to find whatever it was that had spooked Fluttershy. And sure enough...

"WHAT THE HECK!?" He exclaimed, quickly reaching for his cream pie cannon. He wasn't familiar with any fish species that had giant red cats' eyes, and he was fairly sure the catfish didn't have red eyes.

He quickly dashed back over to the controls for the motor and started it up again.

"Hang on! I'm going to get us back to shore!" Snappy instructed Fluttershy, as he revved up the motor and turned the boat around, heading back to the coast. He didn't know what was up, but he knew exactly what to do: Get out of the water ASAP!

But the boat had barely moved ten feet when something slammed into the bottom of it, knocking both Snappy and Fluttershy off their feet like a pair of dominos.

It felt as if a whale had body slammed them head-on!

"What's happening!?" Fluttershy exclaimed fearfully, her eyes wide with terror. She had a really bad feeling about this...

Snappy stood up and looked down into the water again. The red cats' eyes had disappeared, but that didn't explain what had hit their boat.

"This isn't going to end well..." He muttered to himself, reaching over for the controls to the motor once again. But before he could get the boat moving again...

"AAHHH!"

A terrible scream caught him off-guard, causing him to yelp in fright. He whipped around to see what had happened.

Something that looked like a long coil of black rope, with a tiny red pulsating electronic device attached to the end of it, had come out of the water and snaked its way onto the boat. And it had wrapped itself around Fluttershy's leg!

Fluttershy was barely able to grab onto the bow of the boat as the rope tightened itself and tried to drag her out of the boat and into the sea.

"Ahh! Help me!" She pleaded, trying her best to hang on, but the black rope was much stronger then she was, and she could feel her fingers starting to slip.

Snappy dashed over as fast as he could and grabbed her arms, trying desperately to pull her back into the boat. That rope was putting up one heck of a fight!

 _"What the heck is this thing, anyway!?"_ Snappy pondered to himself as he struggled against the force of the rope, trying to save Fluttershy.

"Hang on, Fluttershy!" Snappy called, straining himself to pull her back to safety. He couldn't let her drown! His face had turned red from the effort.

But in the end, it was no good.

With one final tug, the rope pulled Fluttershy loose from Snappy's grip and dragged her away into the water.

Snappy flew backwards into the boat upon losing his grip on Fluttershy, but quickly jumped to his feet and ran over to the bow of the boat, panic in his face, looking into the water for any sign of her.

"Fluttershy! FLUTTERSHY!" Snappy shouted, trying but failing to spot her under the water. He couldn't believe it. He didn't want to believe she was dead. She just couldn't be!

"Oh no, oh no, no, no, no! What'll I do!?" He shouted in a panic, gazing all over for something he could use to possibly rescue Fluttershy.

* * *

 ** _\- Meanwhile... -_**

"Thanks for taking the time to talk with me, Lowden. I'll see you soon." Dusty said to Lord Lowden Clear, leader of the Toon Resistance, giving him a salute, before walking out of his office and out of Toon Hall.

 _"Hopefully we can get some answers soon."_ Dusty thought to himself happily. He had just been to report the battle at his estate the prior night, and was glad to hear that the Toon Resistance were preparing a counter-intelligence mission on Bossbot Headquarters, in order to figure out what Mystery was up to. There was no doubt in Lord Lowden Clear's mind that Mystery was up to something, and that the battle at his estate, as well as the invasion on Toontown Central, had been a diversion.

Dusty thought to inquire about that, but ultimately decided against it. Any excuse to knock Mystery down a peg or two was alright with him, and he didn't want to make it sound like it was a bad idea. After all, nobody argued with Lord Lowden Clear!

His thoughts then wandered to Snappy and Fluttershy. He hoped they were doing alright. After all, Power Medal hunting was serious business. Especially if Mystery got involved! And he was almost certain that Mystery, or one of his henchmen, were going to rear their ugly heads sooner or later and attempt to take back the Power Medals.

He thought to go and see how they were doing, but a beeping from his radio stopped him dead in his tracks. He quickly pulled out the radio from his belt and clicked it on.

"This is Dusty Bumblejinks. Go ahead." He said in a half-bored tone, as if he already knew what was coming.

 _"Dusty, I hate to be a party crasher, but it looks like we got trouble in Donald's Dock. A massive horde of Cashbots are invading the neighborhood, and some Toons have reported spotting some kind of giant mechanical monster off the coast."_ A Resistance Ranger said into the other line, making Dusty gasp lightly.

Donald's Dock. That's where Snappy and Fluttershy were supposed to be looking for Power Medals!

"Hang tight. I'll be right there!" He said into the radio, before clicking it off and putting it away, a furious look on his face.

He knew it was only a matter of time before Mystery went after Snappy and Fluttershy. After all, he was willing to do ANYTHING to seize a Power Medal. But he hadn't expected Mystery to make his move so soon. Mystery usually waited at least two and a half full days between plots, mainly because he needed time to make them as elaborate and complex as possible.

And what did the Resistance Ranger on the other end of the radio mean when he said Toons saw some kind of giant mechanical monster off the coast of Donald's Dock? It sounded like Mystery was taking matters into his own hands, and if that was the case, there was no time to lose. Who knows how much destruction that brown cat could cause, if he was behind the wheel of one of his favorite death machines?

With all this in mind, he quickly pulled out his portable hole and jumped into it, ready to do what he did best: Cog Crushing.

* * *

Dusty Bumblejinks and all associated characters are owned and copyright by Bulldozer Studios.

Fluttershy, My Little Pony and all associated characters are owned and copyright by Hasbro.

Toontown and all associated characters, including the cogs, are owned and copyright by The Walt Disney Company.


	9. 8 Mingling with Milstone

No!

Not like this!

Not in a watery grave!

 _"Please, let go! Let go of me! Please!"_ Fluttershy thought frantically, struggling to pull her leg free from the black, mechanical-looking rope that had pulled her from the motorboat and into the sea. She was also struggling to hold her breath, but she knew she wouldn't last long without a breath of fresh air.

But already her lungs were beginning to burn. She had to get free!

 _"Let me go! I don't want to die!"_ She thought, still trying to free herself. But it was a losing battle; the rope was too tight!

What was this mysterious thing? Why had it grabbed her and dragged her into the sea? Why was it trying to kill her?

Her lungs were burning as if they were on fire at this point, and she felt her cheeks puff up. She couldn't hold on much longer!

Just when she was beginning to think about how much drowning would hurt, she heard a splash above her and looked up, and felt her eyes widening when she saw who it was.

It was Snappy! He had dived in to rescue her, holding a sharp-looking fishing hook on one hand.

He swam close to her and started cutting away at the black mechanical rope.

Luckily, it seemed to be a regular rope that was just painted black to look intimidating, because the hook was cutting through it with no issue.

He nearly dropped the hook once, but he quickly grabbed it and resumed slicing as fast as he could.

Fluttershy smiled at him, glad he was here to help her. But her smile quickly faded when a small torrent of bubbles suddenly erupted from her mouth. She quickly covered her mouth with her hands as Snappy worked away at the rope, trying to hold on whatever air she had left.

" _Come on, come on, come on..."_ Snappy pleaded in his head, still trying to cut through the rope. He had never done this with a fishing hook before but right now, it was his only chance to save Fluttershy.

After a few more tense moments, Snappy finally smiled in triumph. He had finally cut through the rope and freed her!

Grabbing the now red faced Fluttershy, who continued to cover her mouth with her hands, he swam as quickly as he could to the surface.

Fluttershy felt her entire body give off a nasty jolt, as if she had just been given an electrical shock, when she reached the surface and gulped in a fresh breath of air. She couldn't believe it. She had thought for sure that she was going to drown, but Snappy had saved her.

Snappy quickly swam over to the boat and hoisted her in, before climbing in himself. Fluttershy was coughing up water violently, and they were both soaked to the bone. But they were both alive.

It took Fluttershy a good minute or so to come to her senses, but when she did, she sat up and looked over at Snappy, looking extremely worn.

"Oh my goodness, that was so scary. I thought I was going to die..." She said in a half-exhausted tone, breathing deeply to calm herself down.

Snappy wiped his brow and slipped his hat back on, which he had tossed into the boat before diving in to save Fluttershy. He couldn't believe he had just done that. He had never tried to do anything even remotely close to that before and here he had just pulled it off perfectly. He was slightly shocked over his sudden surge of courage.

"Thank you for saving me, Snappy." Fluttershy said to him in a most grateful tone, feeling her cheeks growing red. Snappy just scratched the back of his head and chuckled at her.

"Ah, it was nothing. It's all in a day's work." Snappy said, handwaving the entire ordeal away. He wasn't about to admit it, but now he was slightly embarrassed to be around her, perhaps because he had just saved her life.

"What about you're jetpack and cannon?" She asked him, now wondering if their brief swim had ruined his equipment. He shook his head reassuringly.

"Waterproof, like the Medal-Detector-5000. They're perfectly intact." Snappy told her as he sighed to calm down himself. His heart level had increased dramatically during the rescue, and he needed it to return to normal if he was going to think clearly.

But now his mind was on another topic.

"What the heck was that thing that grabbed you, anyway? It was painted black and looked all mechanical, but it was just a regular old rope..." Snappy wondered out loud, putting a hand to his chin and thinking about it deeply. He didn't recall seeing anything like that before in Mysteries lineup.

Fluttershy was still worried about what that red cats eye was that she had seen before. Was it connected to that black rope in some way? She had a feeling it was.

"I don't care. I just want to get out of here." She said in a frightened tone, not wanting to be out on the water any longer. She wanted to get as far away from the coast as she possibly could, before something else came along and tried to kill her.

"Working on it." Snappy said, starting up the motor again and turning the boat around to head back to the coast. The boat had managed to drift a ways out to sea while Snappy was busy rescuing Fluttershy.

They were about four hundred yards out from shore when something slammed into the boat again, bringing it to a dead stop and causing the two to fall over yet again.

Fluttershy stood up and started looking around franticly, wondering what it was that had hit them, while Snappy fumbled with the motor, trying to get it to work.

"Argh! What is going on around here? What keeps hitting us?" Snappy groaned after a minute of trying to get the motor running with no success. Did nothing work in this stupid place anymore!?

Fluttershy was about to make a comment about that, but something caught her attention and made her look into the water and gasp in shock.

There was a noticeable patch of water that was darker than the rest, about twenty feet from their boat. It looked as big as a pirate ship.

And slowly but surely, it was getting darker and darker. She also noticed that bubbles were beginning to burst on the surface around the edges.

Something was coming up to the surface! Something _BIG!_

And more than likely, whatever it was had something to do with the attempt on her life just recently.

Fluttershy quickly got Snappy's attention and pointed right at the dark patch of water, eyes wide with alarm.

The blue dog quickly grabbed his cream pie cannon and held it ready. He knew this was going to be nasty.

"Steady there, Fluttershy." Said Snappy, putting a soothing hand on Fluttershy's shoulder and looking at her reassuringly, before turning his attention back on the dark patch of water, which had just grown even darker.

Whoever or whatever it was, it was about to breach and hit them with everything it had!

* * *

 ** _\- Meanwhile... -_**

"Thanks for the help, Dusty!" A happy shopkeeper said to the tall crimson canine who had just freed his store from the clutches of the cogs in Donald's Dock. It had been one heck of a fight, but Dusty, along with a few other Toons who had entered the same building, managed to take it down quickly and without a scratch.

"Hey, no problem. Just doing my job." Dusty replied, ignoring the small crowd of Toons who were currently cheering and praising him for a job well done.

However, Dusty was a little confused about something. This invasion hadn't lasted all that long. In fact, it seemed to be over before it had even begun. Normally Mystery sent out invasions that lasted for hours at a time. Why had this one ended so quickly?

And where was this monster that the resistance ranger said had been spotted near the coast? He hadn't seen any monster of any description upon arriving, nor throughout the task of driving off the invasion force.

The sound of the cheering crowd broke his train of thought. He made a mental note to bring this up next time he spoke to Snappy.

Dusty turned and smiled to the Toons, before pulling out something from one of his pockets. It was clenched in his fist, so they couldn't see what it was. The Toons all fell silent as he raised a hand and shushed them. He then cleared his throat and addressed them all.

"Folks, I know it can get rough when the cogs come looking for trouble, but never forget: Through courage and teamwork, we can and will stand triumph over the cogs through thick and thin!" He said to the crowd, earning even more cheers, before raising a hand high into the sky. Several Toons were already expecting what was coming next, and pulled out their jellybean jars.

"Toons of the world, spend wisely!" He shouted, snapping his fingers. Jellybeans went flying in all directions into the crowd. The Toons in the crowd scrambled to grab as many as they could, all the while laughing happily. They loved it when someone else did this!

"Dusty, you sure know how to work a crowd." The shopkeeper said, chuckling happily at the Toons as they all gathered the jellybeans.

"Heh. Why not let them have a little fun collecting beans? It's the only way to use a jellybean unite." Dusty replied, checking his supply of jellybean unites he had taken from the C.F.O.

 _"Plenty. Good for me, I suppose."_ He thought to himself, twirling his favorite billy club and holstering it once again.

He was still wondering why this invasion had been so short and sudden, and where this so-called monster was, when a pair of Toons came around the corner and ran right into the crowd, screaming their heads off.

"MONSTER! MONSTER!" They were both screaming as the crowd parted ways for them. They continued screaming until they reached Dusty, who was looking at the pair with an eyebrow raised.

"What's going on?" He asked the two, a pair of young pink cats in bright orange outfits, kneeling down to their level. They both had panicked faces and were out of breath, as if they had just run a marathon.

"There's a monster off the coast of the neighborhood! It attacked a little motorboat!" One of the two Toons quickly explained to him, whiles the other one just whimpered pitifully, tears in her eyes.

Dusty's eyes widened when he heard what was happening.

 _"Speak of the devil."_ He thought to himself. It sounded like he was going to get some info on this monster after all.

"Was it a cog of some description?" He asked the two, but they both shook their heads.

"No, it looked like some kind of submarine. It had a giant red cat's eye on it." The other Toon said, making everyone in the area gasp loudly.

That was all Dusty needed to hear. Something foul was afoot, and he intended to figure out what it was.

"Finish off any surviving cogs! I'm going to go see what's happening!" Dusty instructed everyone, before drawing his billy club once again and taking off toward the coast. The other Toons watched as he leaped on top of a dumpster, front-flipped off of it, grabbed into a street lamp, and launched himself onto a rooftop and out of sight.

"If what those Toons said is true, then it sounds like Mysteries already making his move! No time to lose!" He said to himself as he continued to leap across the rooftops with the greatest of ease, headed toward the sea. If there was indeed some kind of mechanical monster roaming around, he intended to get the first crack at it. "I just hope Snappy and Fluttershy are alright..."

* * *

 ** _\- Back with Snappy and Fluttershy... -_**

"AAHHH!"

Fluttershy let out a terrible scream as the water suddenly erupted where the darkened area in the water was, causing a massive wave that nearly capsized the two and drenched them in even more water than before.

It took a good twenty seconds or so for the water to finally calm down, but once it did, Fluttershy's heart skipped a beat and Snappy nearly felt himself collapse upon seeing what it was.

What could only be described as a giant black submarine had emerged from the water. It was long and tall as a pirate ship, and had four giant, round wings on either side with propellers inside of them, which Snappy assumed were used to allow the thing to hover above the water like some kind of hovercraft. The propellers were covered from all angles except the bottom. A hatch on top looked like it was the only way into the vehicle. It also had a giant red cats eye on it, just like the one the two had seen before! The cockpit had, of course, black tinted glass, making it impossible to see who was piloting it. There appeared to be multiple, smaller hatches all over the thing.

On top of the machine, there was the cut end of what appeared to be a black-painted rope.

The same kind of rope that tried to kill Fluttershy!

And right next to it, there was a red octagon with a brown cats head inside it, with a thumbs down sign in the center of that.

Mysteries trademark calling card!

"What is that!?" Fluttershy asked out loud, backing away from the submarine in fear, having never seen a submarine before in her life, and right now, she didn't know what to do. It wasn't like she could just fly away from this danger, after all.

"Hahaha! Your worst nightmare, little lady!" A voice blared over a loudspeaker that was attached to the side of the cockpit. "I'm amazed you aren't swimming with the fishes right now. I thought I told my idiot sister Mildew to get stainless steel cables, not show rope painted black!"

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow at the loudspeaker in spite of her fear.

"Swimming with the fishes?" She repeated silently, not knowing what that term meant.

"It means drowned. Bad guy talk." Snappy told her, before turning to the submarine and cupping his hands over his mouth. "Well, next time, maybe you should invest a few more jellybeans in your quality control! That rope was nothing more than dental floss tied together!"

A loud noise blared over the loudspeaker. It sounded as if the pilot had slammed his fist into the control console.

"You won't be laughing when you feel the wrath of Sir Milstone Grumblecrash, older brother of Lady Mildew Grumblecrash, and chief engineer of the Smog Smashers!" The voice in the cockpit blared once again, before laughing out loud like a madman. Clearly, he thought this was the funniest thing ever.

Snappy gasped loudly at his words. Older brother of Mildew? Chief engineer of the Smog Smashers!?

Did that mean he was in league with Mystery?

"Wait, WHAT!?" Snappy shouted, unable to believe what he was hearing.

Milstone laughed again from inside the sub. A second later, the loudspeaker went dead.

Snappy and Fluttershy looked at each other for a moment, before looking back at the submarine, wondering what was going on. What was Milstone doing?

Somewhere in his heart, Snappy didn't want to find out.

A moment later, the hatch on top of the sub opened up, and out came Milstone. Sure enough, he was the purple bear member of the Smog Smashers. And at that moment, he was smiling at the two Toons below in such a way that gave them both goosebumps.

"Oh my gosh!" Milstone exclaimed in a fake shocked tone, laughing like a crazy person. "The Smog Smashers are in league with Mystery? Who'd a thought it?"

Snappy growled at him, cream pie cannon still in hand.

"Somehow I had a feeling you guys were in Mysteries inner circle. Why'd you blow you're cover?" Snappy inquired, trying to stall for time long enough for his brother to get here. He wasn't about to take on something like this on his own.

Especially with a now more than likely terrified Fluttershy on board!

But much to his shock, Fluttershy was remaining relatively calm in the face of such danger. Her eyes were wide and her breathing was shallow and fast, but apart from that she seemed perfectly fine. He figured she had been in situations like this before and this was just normal for her.

"Inner circle? I'm amazed he didn't order our deaths after that little fiasco in Toontown Central! Me and my companions, we're on the verge of being taken out here! We're in anything BUT his inner circle!" The bear shouted angrily, clearly not liking where this conversation was going.

"That still doesn't answer my question. Why blow you're cover right in front of us?" Snappy repeated, wanting an answer. The bear just chuckled.

"Ah, why not? After all, Mysteries fool-proof plan will soon be finalized, and all of Toontown will be crushed, and all of us with it! I might as well have SOME fun before we're all destroyed!" Milstone replied, still smiling crazily, before sighing sadly in a way that made Snappy roll his eyes at how fake it was. "Besides, the goodie two-shoes bit was getting old and boring, anyway. Between you and me, I like full-on destruction myself."

Snappy still couldn't believe the garbage he was hearing. Mysteries fool-proof plan? What in the world did THAT mean? He shot Milstone another foul look as the bear continued.

"Oh, and yeah, I have a personal vendetta against you Bumblejinks, after the way you killed my father two years ago!" Milstone shouted, now glaring daggers at Snappy, who was glaring right back at him. "He was just trying to have a little fun destroying Toontown, and you're brother shows up and ruins everything! I'll show you what happens when you do that! I'd like to be able to do at least THAT before I die!"

Snappy had heard enough. He didn't want to listen to this idiot any longer. Luckily, Milstone seemed to have read his mind, for he had narrowed his eyes at Snappy.

"Well, I can see you two are bored of listening to me. Very well, then. I guess the time for talking is over." Milstone said, laughing at the pair again, before vanishing inside the submarine. Snappy saw the hatch close and felt his heart skip a beat once again. He knew what was coming next.

"I hope you two weren't hoping for a fair fight or anything." Milstones voice declared over the loudspeaker. He sounded full of glee, like he was going to enjoy this.

Snappy sure as spit knew he wasn't going to enjoy this.

He quickly grabbed the controls to the motor and tried to start it up again. Thankfully, it started up without a hitch this time.

"Hang on!" Snappy shouted to Fluttershy as he turned the boat around and piloted it away from the submarine. He wanted to put as much distance between them and the submarine as possible.

Fluttershy looked back and gasped as the giant machine turned around to face them.

"Look out!" She shouted, as it launched itself forward toward them!

Snappy yanked on the control for the motor and turned the boat around sharply, just as the machine shot past them, kicking up more small waves in its wake.

"Sheesh! How the heck are we going to beat this thing!?" Snappy exclaimed, clearly at a loss over how to destroy this mechanical monstrosity. Sure, he had helped his brother destroy machines like this in the past, but it had always been with Dusty, and never before had he encountered one in the open sea! He was truly at a loss over how to tackle this new threat.

"Would it be bad if that thing got to Toontown?" Fluttershy asked, watching as the machine shot past the two once again, its propellers splashing them with more water as it went.

"That's the understatement of the year." Snappy replied, looking for any sort of weakness he could exploit to damage this thing. But there was nothing to attack. "I can't see any kind of weakness in that thing. How are we supposed to damage it?"

"Can we go back to Toontown and get help?" Fluttershy asked out loud, to which Snappy shook his head sadly.

"We can't risk any collateral damage to Toontown. We got to destroy this thing before it gets to Toontown!" Snappy replied, as he continued to steer the boat through the water.

The pair let out surprised gasps as the machine shot right past them, barely missing them by inches.

"Argh! Hold still, you little pests!" Milstone shouted, who was quickly losing his temper over his repeated failures at ramming into Snappy and Fluttershy.

"Fluttershy! Any ideas!?" Snappy asked her, as the submarine roared past them once again. He was starting to wonder how much longer the motor would last before it died on them completely. After all, common motorboats weren't designed for scenarios like this!

As if on cue, Fluttershy thought back to when Snappy had helped her in Toontown Central, when he had used some kind of extremely sticky blue goo-like stuff. She didn't know if the stuff could be washed away, but right now, they didn't have many other options.

"Wait, what about that blue goo stuff you used before?" She said to him, and from the expression he had on his face, she could tell a lightbulb had just gone off in his head.

"Of course! You're a genius, Fluttershy!" Snappy complimented, making Fluttershy smile happily, pulling out a push button like the one he had used before. "I'm glad I developed more of these in my spare time."

But as Snappy went to use the gag, the machine rounded on them and charged at them once again. Snappy quickly grabbed the motor and the boat shot forward, barely avoiding Milstone.

A couple of seconds later, Snappy saw a smaller hatch on the side open up, and a TNT bundle shot out at them. Snappy quickly steered the boat in another direction as the TNT bundle went off.

Fluttershy gazed wide-eyed at the spot where the TNT bundle had gone off. This thing was shooting TNT at them!

"Looks like you're having a blast, Snappy!" Milstone shouted over the loudspeaker, laughing wildly at his own joke, as a group of cogs loaded bundles of TNT into TNT cannons all over the machine. It looked like it could fire up to thirty bundles at once, in all directions!

Snappy gritted his teeth as the boat shot in another direction, narrowly avoiding another bundle of TNT that was fired at them.

"Argh. I can't use the quicksand and steer the boat at the same time." Snappy complained, before tossing the button over to Fluttershy. "You'll have to use it!"

Fluttershy looked down at the button, gave it a quizzical, nervous look, and looked back up at Snappy. How was she supposed to use it?

"Um, how do I do that?" She asked in a slightly nervous tone.

"Fix you're gaze on the target and push the button." Snappy instructed her. He looked over at the submarine as it shot past once again, and as the boat avoided another bundle of TNT, he spotted something that might be a weak point.

"Try aiming for those propellers! Maybe you can gum them up!" Snappy told her, steering away from a couple of more TNT bundles fired from the submarine.

Fluttershy gulped away her nervousness and nodded to him. She wasn't exactly sure of this plan, but it wasn't like she was in any position to argue or come up with a plan of her own.

"Oh, I can't see the propellers. Can you bring us in any closer?" She asked him, to which he smiled and nodded, avoiding the machine as it shot past them again. He drove the boat directly past the machine and the propellers.

"Now's your chance! Hit it!" Snappy shouted to Fluttershy.

She didn't need to be told twice. She fixed her gaze on the nearest propeller and, after letting out a breath, hit the button.

"Hey! Stop that, you little runt!" Milstone shouted as an alarm blared on his control console. The blue goo had done its job and jammed up the propeller, making it unusable and unresponsive.

Snappy smiled upon hearing Milstones reaction to the goo gumming up the propeller. Maybe if they did that to the other propellers, the thing would be unable to remain in the air and would be forced to fall into the ocean. Then they could make their escape!

Fluttershy and Snappy both smiled and cheered, steering away from the machine as TNT bundles flew out in their direction.

"It looks like we're getting somewhere! Keep it up!" Snappy said happily, making another turn in the water to avoid the machine ramming into them.

Snappy then saw the top hatch open, and a pair of Mr. Hollywoods flew out of it.

"Uh-oh! Rust buckets inbound!" Snappy said, pulling out his cream pie cannon and firing multiple pies at the approaching cogs, all the while moving the boat closer to the machine. He tossed Fluttershy another push button as the cogs fell into the water and exploded.

Fluttershy fixed her gaze onto another propeller as the machine passed them again and hit the button.

"Argh! Why, you little-!" Milstone shouted as another alarm went off in his control chamber. He pressed the button to speed up the submarine, but it was no good; with two propellers out of commission, the machine couldn't move nearly as fast. He slammed his fist into the arm of his chair in anger.

"Alright, that's it! I'm just going to start pressing buttons at random until you're both out of my sight!" He shouted at the pair, before hitting the button labeled "Maximum Power", laughing maniacally. "Prepare to die!"

It was complete mayhem. Though the machine was slowed down considerably without the support of the other two propellers, it continued to follow the pair regardless, firing TNT bundle after TNT bundle at them. Cogs occasionally flew out of the top hatch to try and attack the two, but they were quickly dispatched with Snappy's cream pie cannon.

Fluttershy had to hold on for dear life to keep from being thrown back into the water, but she held onto the button all the same, waiting for a chance to use it.

It was getting more difficult to avoid everything that was coming at them, but Snappy somehow managed to stay one step ahead of Milstone.

"Milstone, we can't keep up the fight much longer! We have to get back to headquarters!" A Loan Shark warned, clearly worried about the machines condition. He didn't think the machine could remain operational if they lost another propeller. The remaining two were struggling to keep the craft above water.

"We'll keep fighting until the end of time! Keep loading that TNT!" He shouted to the cogs, as he pulled the machine to a stop in the middle of the water.

He grinned to himself with glee.

"Time for some REAL fireworks!" He shouted, pushing a button that said "Mad Fire Hydrant".

Snappy and Fluttershy were curious as to what he was doing, but Snappy continued to maneuver the boat nonetheless.

"What's he doing?" Fluttershy wondered out loud, picking up another push button tossed to her by Snappy.

"No idea, but get ready with that button." Snappy replied, watching the machine carefully with his cream pie cannon in one hand, and maneuvering the boat with the other.

"Let's see you little fools dodge THIS!" Milstone shouted, pushing the large red button on his control console, laughing insanely.

Snappy and Fluttershy both drew in sharp breaths when they saw what was happening. Every last one of the smaller hatches opened at once, and they watched as over thirty TNT bundles flew out of the machine in all directions.

Though Snappy did his best to avoid them all, the blast from one of them was close enough to overturn the boat, tossing both Snappy and Fluttershy into the water. Luckily, Fluttershy was able to keep a firm grip on the push button and quickly swam to the surface.

Snappy grunted as he attempted to flip the boat back over, failing to notice that the motor had fallen off and sank into the sea. Failing that, he cast a quick look at Fluttershy, and felt his stomach do a nasty somersault.

"LOOK OUT!" He shouted, pointing to the submarine behind Fluttershy.

She looked over and gasped. One of the hatches nearest her was wide open, and she could see a cog inside preparing to launch a TNT bundle directly at her!

"Oh no, you don't!" She shouted to the cog, fixing her gaze on the inside of the hatch and pushing the button.

"Hey! What the heck!?"

Milstone looked over at the cog that had just shouted and felt his heart stop.

A TNT bundle that the cog had just loaded into one of the launchers was stuck. It had gotten caught in some blue goo-like substance. The cog was stuck as well.

"What is this stuff!?" The cog shouted, trying and failing to free himself. The other cogs on board weren't concerned with him, however. Their attention was on the TNT bundle he had just loaded into the launcher.

Its fuse was lit, and it was about to blow!

Milstone jumped up out of his seat.

"WHAT!? This can't be happening to me!" He screamed in a panic, before starting toward the emergency shutdown switch in the corner.

He was just about to push it when the TNT bundle in the launcher exploded, killing the cogs in front of it and sending sparks all over the place, including the many boxes of TNT that were positioned in the center of the submarine.

The other cogs all screamed and bolted for the top hatch as the TNT in the boxes caught fire and their fuses lit. They weren't sticking around to see THIS fireworks show!

Milstone just stood in place, a blank expression on his face.

"Well... that can't be good." He said flatly, before screaming at the top of his lungs and covering his face with his hands.

Upon seeing the cogs flying out of the submarine in a panic, Snappy and Fluttershy gasped and swam away from it as fast as they could, leaving the overturned boat forgotten.

A few seconds passed, and...

KA-BOOM!

Every last bundle of TNT on board the machine exploded at once, obliterating the entire vessel and creating a sound louder than anything the two had ever heard before, sending parts and debris flying everywhere. Snappy and Fluttershy had to cover their ears to block out the noise. Luckily, neither of them were hit by the flying scrap metal.

After about thirty seconds of covering their ears, the two looked up to see the aftermath of the explosion. The only thing left of the once giant black submarine was tons of scrap metal and a few pieces of driftwood floating about and sinking in the water.

The two looked around at the wreckage of the machine and sighed with relief, glad that it was destroyed. And with any luck, they wouldn't run into another giant, killer machine like that again for a long time.

"Well... it's not every day you do something like THAT!" Snappy exclaimed, climbing up onto a piece of floating metal that was drifting past. He reached down and hoisted Fluttershy up, too.

Fluttershy's heart was racing a mile a minute as a result of the battle they had just fought, but she couldn't help but smile regardless. She couldn't understand why, but she felt oddly satisfied, as if she enjoyed taking down that giant mechanical monster of mass destruction. Perhaps even more so then destroying the cogs from before.

 _"Goodness me, this is going to become contagious if I keep this up..."_ She thought to herself, smirking at her own thoughts. If only her friends could have been here, to see her doing these things. Things she would have never thought to try before in her life.

 _"I guess it's true. When faced with unknown danger, you tend to turn into someone else."_ She thought, now taking several deep breaths to calm herself down. She had heard that saying a few times in the past, but she didn't really believe it to be true, despite having seen it happen several times, and having felt it happen to herself twice before. The thought made her giggle slightly.

A coughing and sputtering noise nearby told the two Milstone had managed to get aboard a piece of floating metal himself. Sure enough, he had climbed aboard a piece of metal that was directly next to their piece. Almost his entire body was charred black from the blast, and despite his brief dip in the water, he still had small amounts of smoke coming off of him.

"Ugh... I know I should have upgraded this thing from WinToons Vista..." He grumbled to himself, holding his head in his hands. After that massive explosion, he had the mother of all headaches.

But Snappy and Fluttershy weren't worried about him. Their eyes were on the object he was holding in his left hand.

A Power Medal! It was dark yellow in color, with a bright yellow color for its center shape, which was a fist being raised into the air.

Snappy recognized it right away. The Power Medal of Strength!

But how did the Smog Smashers get it before they did?

Without a second thought, Snappy jumped over to Milstone and struck him on the back of the head with his hammer, knocking what little strength he had left out of him, and taking the yellow Power Medal.

"Well, it seems you guys were doing a little treasure hunt of your own. Thanks for bringing the spoils right to us." Snappy said to Milstone, chuckling as the bear looked over at him and groaned, collapsing onto the piece of metal.

Snappy looked over at Fluttershy and smiled to her, holding up the Power Medal happily. Three out of seven, and they had just started their search!

"Was he using that Power Medal to power this machine?" Fluttershy asked him, looking closely at the Power Medal in Snappy's hand. For some reason, its color and shape made her smile.

"Looks like it." Snappy told her, pocketing the Medal and checking to see if his jetpack was working again. Luckily, it was working like a charm. He didn't think the effects of the EMP detonator would last very long. They weren't known for being very dangerous to Toon technology, being meant to incapacitate troublesome cogs.

Fluttershy now had something else on her mind.

"Um, how often do you have to battle giant, uh... whatever that was?" She asked, almost dreading the answer.

"Every once in a while, Mystery goes insane and cooks up one of those crazy machines. It is a little curious, though. He usually pilots them himself or gets Mildew Grumblecrash to do it for him. Why did he send Milstone out here to do his dirty work?" Snappy wondered out loud, putting a hand to his chin and thinking on that for a moment. Surely after what Milstone had just said, Mystery wouldn't put him behind the controls of such a deadly and dangerous machine that had almost killed the two of them. So why did Mystery let him pilot this thing?

Was this just a simple case of miscommunication between the Smog Smashers and Mystery? Or was there something here that Snappy was missing?

He decided to just ask his brother about it. Surely, he would know more.

"Well, all that aside, shall we head back to Toontown? I'm sure my brother wants to hear about all this." Snappy offered happily, to which Fluttershy nodded in return. She was ready to get out of this place. After all, there was only so much one could take of the sea. Especially after fighting a giant, killer machine!

"Gladly." Fluttershy replied, wringing out her soaking wet hair and sighing sadly. She'd have to brush and fix her hair when she got back.

 _"_ _Oh well… at least I'm still alive."_ She thought to herself. Getting her hair messed up was something she could deal with in due time. Dying, however, wasn't.

Snappy stepped over and picked her up gently with one arm, then went back over and grabbed Milstone by the back of his shirt collar with his other hand. Milstone was entirely out of it, so he didn't put up any sort of fight whatsoever.

Snappy then engaged his jetpack and took off toward Toontown. This trip to the coast hadn't gone nearly as smoothly as he thought it would. Though they were up by two Power Medals, he wasn't too keen on having another run-in with the Smog Smashers, now that they had been revealed to be among Mysteries forces.

He felt bad about leaving the sea behind, but he couldn't help hoping this would be the last he'd see of it for a while.

* * *

Dusty Bumblejinks and all associated characters are owned and copyright by Bulldozer Studios.

Fluttershy, My Little Pony and all associated characters are owned and copyright by Hasbro.

Toontown and all associated characters, including the cogs, are owned and copyright by The Walt Disney Company.


	10. 9 The Ice Cavern

_**\- One Hour later -**_

It had been a full hour since Snappy and Fluttershy had destroyed Milstone's giant battle machine off the coast of Donald's Dock. The two had been given a police escort to the nearest police station along with Dusty, in order to spare the two from having to deal with the massive crowd that had begun to gather at the coast, no doubt attracted to the noise of the explosion.

While Snappy and Fluttershy spent the majority of their visit in front of a giant hairdryer Loony Labs was developing to melt away all the snow in The Brrrgh, Dusty and several police officers took Milstone into an interrogation room in the back of the building, hoping to get some answers out of him.

But after nearly a full hour of interrogation, all they were able to get out of him was a brief mention of Mysteries latest plan code-named "The Day of Judgement", which required all seven Power Medals to use. This left Dusty, Snappy and Fluttershy none the wiser. What was Mystery up to this time? Why was he launching his next plan so soon after his last plan, which quite literally blew up in his right hand bears face? And why did it need all seven Power Medals to use?

Dusty knew, from personal experience, that all of Mysteries machines have never needed more then a single Power Medal to operate, even his larger death robots that stood over eight stories tall. If this new device of his truly required all seven Medals to use, it certainly was a cause for concern.

While the three of them were left wondering what Mystery was up to now, at least they could rest easy knowing Milstone wouldn't have any part of it from this point onward. According to the police chief himself, the creation of giant battle ships and armed combat vehicles had been outlawed at least twenty years ago, and in itself warranted a life sentence in prison. Add all the other mischief and mayhem he and the other members of the Smog Smashers had caused over the years, and it was a safe bet he would never be heard from or seen ever again.

"At least that's one idiot out of our hair." Dusty told Snappy and Fluttershy, who was busy brushing her hair back into it's usual style, as the three made their way back to the Bumblejinks Estate to rest and recover. "But what worries me is how they managed to get their hands on a Power Medal without the rest of us knowing. If they'd managed to get it back to Mystery, we really would have been in trouble. You guys did good in taking Milstone down and getting it back."

Snappy couldn't help but smile at Dusty's words, but he was still troubled about what Milstone had said before. He wasn't sure why, but something about this "Day of Judgement" made him shudder. And judging from the troubled expression Fluttershy was giving him, he could tell she was uneasy about this situation as well. It was already bad enough that they were still struggling to find the seven Medals, but now that it was clear that Mystery was out to get them as well, they would really have to watch their backs.

However, while they were walking through the front gates of the estate, Fluttershy's attention was turned to the site of their massive battle with the Cogs. Much of the mess had been cleaned up by now, no doubt the work of the twenty or so Toons in city worker uniforms who were currently loading the destroyed remains of the Cogs into an oversized black hole. She and the Bumblejinks finally reached the small building she had spent the previous night in, which she finally learned was called "The Outpost".

"It was built so we'd be able to monitor and respond to any usual activity with Mystery and the four Cog Headquarters. We need to be on top of his every move at all times, if we're going to protect this town from his evil designs." Dusty had explained to her, pulling off his cap and wiping his brow as they made their way over a hill that overlooked the estate.

Fluttershy immediately thought of the map of Equestria that was in the Castle of Friendship which warned her and her friends of any trouble happening in the kingdom and couldn't help but giggle to herself. It wasn't the first time she had drawn parallel to Equestria, and she could somehow tell it wouldn't be the last time. She still wondered what her friends would say if they were here with her. The thought made her giggle again.

...At least, until they got inside the Outpost, where they saw none other then Melody waiting for them, still looking as enchanting as ever.

"Ah, Melody. We didn't expect to see you here." Dusty said, raising his cap to Melody in greeting. Melody simply smiled at him.

"Hello, Dusty. I just came to see how these two were doing, after that battle at sea." Melody said, looking at Snappy and Fluttershy, who looked back at her with surprised looks on their faces.

"How do you know about what happened?" Snappy asked her in minor surprise. Fluttershy suddenly had the impression that Melody could read minds, but a second later, she and Snappy understood as Melody picked up the latest edition of the Toontown Times, which had just come out five minutes ago, and held it up so they could see the front page.

* * *

 _ **\- EXTRA -**_

 **SNAPPY BUMBLEJINKS DESTROYS GIANT ROBOT OFF COAST!**

Two young Toons, one identified as Snappy Bumblejinks, the other an unidentified cream cat, was seen off the coast of Donald's Dock today at around noontime, fighting with what appeared to be a large, black battleship bearing the mark of the infamous villain Mystery. The pilot of the craft was identified as Sir Milstone Grumblecrash, a high-ranking member of the infamous Smog Smashers splinter group. Details are still sketchy as of the time of this publication, and full details may be a long ways off, but it appears the Smog Smashers are, indeed, working for the nefarious Mystery. The TTPD have issued an all-points bullion on the remaining members of the Smog Smashers. The public is advised to avoid contact with the Smog Smashers at all costs, as they are considered "Armed and Extremely Dangerous".

Of course, Snappy Bumblejinks was not available for comment at this time, nor was his brother Dusty Bumblejinks, or the cream cat who was with him when the craft was destroyed; The three had already gone by the time our reporters got to the coast. We will continue to follow this story as it unfolds, beginning with tomorrow mornings edition of the Toontown Times.

* * *

"You two are already making a name for yourselves." Said Melody happily, as she tossed the paper back onto the table and beamed down at them both. Snappy went red in the face once again.

"I can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing." Snappy told her, scratching the back of his head. "I mean, I'm glad we were able to destroy that thing before it could cause any trouble in town, but I doubt this is going to do my reputation any favors."

Melody frowned at him for a moment, before shrugging her shoulders and smiling at him once again.

"Well, it's a start, anyway. I know it seems impossible now, but you're taking steps towards redeeming yourself, and that's what matters. So tell me..." Melody said to Snappy, before looking over at Fluttershy. "Where's this Power Medal that Milstone had?"

Fluttershy made an "o" with her mouth, before reaching into her bag and pulling out the Medal of Strength. It glowed as brightly as ever, illuminating Melody's eyes.

At the same time, Snappy reached into his pocket and pulled out the Power Medal of Honor. Melody smiled happily at the pair.

"Dear me, that is incredible! It's only been a couple hours since the two of you started, and you've already found three of the seven Medals! I daresay you'll have them all before long at this rate." Melody said proudly, making both Snappy and Fluttershy smile happily in return. They had to admit, they didn't think they would find two Power Medals in that short of a time span. Not that they were complaining.

As Fluttershy examined the yellow Medal in her hand, Snappy pulled out the Medal-Detector-5000, took out the Power Medal of Wisdom, and replaced it with Honor.

"I hope the rest of them will be that easy to find." Snappy told her, handing her the Medal of Wisdom. He then added quickly; "Well, minus the giant killer robot and all that."

He and Fluttershy glanced over at one another and gave nervous chuckles, scratching the back of their heads. Snappy didn't want to admit it, but he'd thought that destroying Milstone's machine had been quite, and was eager to tackle another giant robot. Fluttershy, on the other hand, wasn't to keen to having anymore near death experiences with giant robots, but she knew that if she had to face another one in order to get those Power Medals, then she'd have to shelf her own fear, or risk never seeing her home again. She knew her friends would have done the same if they were in her position.

Dusty then cleared his throat to get Melody's attention. He had a troubled look on his face.

"What's bothering me right now is this 'Day of Judgement' project Milstone hinted at. If it needs all seven Medals to make it into a reality, I'd hate to think of just what kind of machine it really is." Dusty said to Melody, who now looked troubled herself. "We're going to have to keep our eyes and ears open for any more news on that project. Especially if Mysteries out to bag those Power Medals first."

Melody nodded to him, pocketing the Power Medal of Wisdom.

"Indeed. I'll have to meditate on this when I get home." Melody told him, before turning around and walking over to a small basket that was sitting on the table next to the newspaper. The other three Toons in the room all looked over at it.

"What's that?" Dusty asked, as they all approached. Melody just smiled and pulled off the small towel that was covering the top, revealing the most delicious salad the three of them had ever seen.

"I figured you guys might like to have a little lunch before you set out again." She told them, giggling.

Snappy and Fluttershy both giggled as well, while Dusty just grinned.

"I didn't know you did room service, Melody." He told the blue cat, who simply laughed in reply as Snappy and Fluttershy began unloading the contents of the basket onto the table.

It was only as she was picking up the ranch dressing from inside the basket that Fluttershy realized she hadn't eaten a thing since she got here, and at that moment, she was famished. A little snack was definitely in order. And with any luck, she'd get a chance to talk to Melody and get a few more pressing questions answered.

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile...**_

Mystery, whom was currently pacing around his office in the Executive Office Tower, was in a rage.

"Bumblejinks did WHAT!?" He repeated to the group of four Sellbots who were currently cowering in front of his desk. The only surviving cogs from Milstone's battleship. And now they all found themselves wishing that they hadn't survived the ordeal. They would have preferred to die in the explosion that destroyed the massive machine then survive, only to have to face their boss and tell him the disappointing news. Not only was his favorite black battleship destroyed and the Power Medal of Strength in the hands of the Bumblejinks Bros., but Milstone had been caught and arrested by the Toontown Police, and on top of that, he had spilled the beans about the Day of Judgement. Mystery suspected it would only be a matter of time before the Toon Resistance showed up at his front door.

Mystery then turned to the cogs in front of his desk, who all recoiled on the spot as if they had just been hit in the face, and reached for a black remote control on his desk. He aimed it at the four of them, a dark glint in his cyborg eye.

"You have failed me for the last time!" He shouted, snarling at the four of them all the while, and pushed the red button on the remote labeled "TERMINATE". Before any of the four cogs could react, a trapdoor had opened up in the floor below them, and they all went tumbling out of sight, screaming all the way, into the headquarters scrap room. A moment later, the trap door snapped closed and the only sound that could be heard in the room was Mysteries heavy breathing.

After a moment, he let out a breath and turned to Mildew, who had been an emotional wreck ever since she heard her brother was arrested. She had tears coming from her eyes and her clipboard had fallen from her hands at the very moment the trapdoor closed. Mystery felt much of his anger leave him.

"Mildew? Are you alright?" Mystery asked as he approached her, picking up her clipboard and handing it back to her. She wiped a few tears from her eyes and looked over at her boss, a demonic glint in her eyes.

"I want those Bumblejinks to suffer for this." She said flatly, before turning away from him and looking down at her clipboard. Her tears had splattered the paper in a couple of places and she could somehow tell that one of those poor little Flunky's would end up working late tonight as a result. But she hardly cared.

Mystery let out a low breath and grumbled something under his breath. He hated it when Mildew acted this way. It made it next to impossible to communicate with her effectively because half the time, she shut out everything around her. And much as he didn't like to admit it, she was the best right-hand bear he had ever had. Compared to all the other assistants he had gotten over the years, she got the most results. Especially when it came to the Bumblejinks Bros..

At this moment in time he could only think of one way to get Mildew in a good mood again. And though the idea made him shudder a little on the inside, he knew it had to be done. He needed her in top condition if she was going to continue work on the Day of Judgement.

He approached her and put a hand on her shoulder, which made her look over at him, a few tears still in her eyes.

"We just finished repairs on your TNT cannon. If it'll make you feel any better, you can go out to Toontown Central and cause some trouble. I'll launch an invasion to cover up your tracks. I know how much you love blowing stuff up." He told her in the same sort of tone a parent would have used to comfort a troubled child.

He could already tell that she was feeling a little better, because she had wiped her tears away once again let out a long breath to calm herself down.

"Thank you, sir." She said simply, before turning and leaving the office, clipboard still in hand.

Mystery watched her go, before returning to his desk and picking up the phone to contact the C.E.O.. He had an invasion to organize. But he also had to contact the team currently working on the Day of Judgement and tell them that their work was going to be delayed heavily due to the loss of the Power Medal. He knew they wouldn't take the news very well, but it had to be done regardless.

* * *

 _ **Half an hour later, at the Bumblejinks estate...**_

"So, that's where the Toons come from?" Fluttershy asked Melody, who nodded in return.

"Indeed. It took me a very long time to figure it out, but I'm glad I did." Melody said, smiling, before looking up at the clear, blue sky.

It had been about ten minutes since they had finished the salad, and now everyone was outside, enjoying the day. Dusty and Snappy were currently playing with Cindy, Dusty's pet Doodle, who was running around them quickly and barking happily. Rosie was tending the gag trees around the estate, and Daffy was currently bouncing around like a rubber ball, nearly knocking a few cream pies out of the trees. Melody and Fluttershy were relaxing by the fishing pond. Fluttershy only turned her gaze away from the many kinds of fish in the pond when Melody was addressing her.

"You know something? I've always wanted to meet a Pony from your world. I had meant to go and visit your world for a very long time, but I just haven't been able to find the time. It's kind of, uh... overwhelming, that one of your kind got sent here." Melody told Fluttershy, who gave Melody a mildly curious look in return.

"Really? You've always wanted to come to Equestria?" She asked the tall blue cat. She couldn't even begin to imagine what kind of insanity would ensue if a Toon actually showed up in Equestria, particularly in Ponyville. She could still remember what happened when Zecora appeared in Ponyville oh so long ago, and it would be a long time before she forgot the madness that occurred when Spike began growing larger and larger as a result of stealing things from around Ponyville.

Melody nodded to her in confirmation.

"Indeed. Maybe one day I'll finally get to see your world with my own eyes." She said dreamily, a distant look in her eyes.

Fluttershy was pondering over her words when Dusty and Snappy came up to her and got her attention.

"Well, now that we're firmly fed and relaxed, what do you say we go find that next Power Medal?" Dusty asked her. Snappy was right behind him, tinkering with the Medal-Detector-5000.

Fluttershy quickly stood up and smiled.

"Sure." She said simply, though Snappy couldn't help but detect a hint of nervousness in her tone.

Melody smiled at the three of them before standing up herself, picking up her staff as she did.

"I do hope you'll forgive me, but I need to get back to my sanctuary. I have much to do." Melody said politely, making Dusty chuckle at her.

"Meditation, I suspect." He said to her, making her giggle in return.

"I guess you caught me there." She replied. She then looked down at Fluttershy next to her. "I trust you'll be alright?"

"I hope so." Fluttershy replied. She wasn't about to admit it, but she was still very nervous about what they were preparing to go and do, despite their recent success. Perhaps it had something to do with the huge battle she had just been involved in, but she felt like she'd had enough of giant robots trying to hurt her... or worse.

Dusty, however, put her mind at ease by coming forward and putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Heh, she'll be just fine. She's gonna have me along to keep an eye on her." He said to Melody, making both Fluttershy and Snappy whip around to look at him, surprised expressions on their faces.

"Are you sure, Dusty? Mystery can really hurt you, you know." The blue cat asked him. But Dusty simply hand-waved it off.

"So? I'm still here, aren't I? I'm to tough for that silly brown cat." He exclaimed boldly, making Melody laugh lightly at him.

"Well, if your sure, Dusty." She said to him, making him chuckle once more.

Snappy then looked down at his watch and felt his eyes widen.

"Hey, guys, if we're going to go get that Power Medal, we better get going, before Mystery finds it first." He told the others. Dusty and Fluttershy both nodded in agreement as he pulled out the Medal-Detector-5000 and turned it on. Almost immediately, the device pointed toward Melody and began beeping rapidly, no doubt drawn to the Power Medal she was carrying. Snappy chuckled and Fluttershy raised an eyebrow.

"Guess I forgot to filter out the Medals we've already found." He said, turning it over and pressing a couple of buttons on the back. The arrow on the device swung in the opposite direction and ceased beeping. This Power Medal was a long way away.

Dusty, Snappy and Fluttershy all looked off in the direction the arrow was pointing. It was pointing north of The Brrrgh.

"Looks like we got our heading. Let's get going!" Snappy announced as he turned and began following the device, leaping over the fence of the estate as he went. Once he was on the other side of the fence, he broke into a run.

Fluttershy felt her eyes grow wide.

"Hey! Wait for me!" She shouted, breaking into a run as she proceeded to follow him, vaulting over the fence as she went. Dusty just laughed at the pair.

"I swear, those two have more heart in them then everyone else in this town put together." He told Melody, looking over at her and giving her a thumbs up and a wink. "Take care, Melody."

She nodded to him in return.

"Always, Dusty." She replied.

Dusty then turned and hurried off after Snappy and Fluttershy, leaping over the fence easily as he went. He caught up to them in no time, and as Melody watched them disappear behind a tall hill in the distance, she turned and began to make her way back to her sanctuary. Some serious meditation was certainly in order.

* * *

 _ **Some time later...**_

"Dusty! Snappy! Where are you!?"

Fluttershy had no idea where they were. They had gone north of The Brrrgh, through a large field of snow, and had entered into what appeared to be a frozen forest. But as they went deeper into the forest, all the while following the Medal-Detector's arrow, the snow lessened up considerably, leaving nothing but the ice, which was shining brightly on the bright green trees all around them. Fluttershy had the sudden thought that they were inside a large cave. Large enough to house an entire forest of lush, green trees covered in sparkling ice inside of it. The sky had long gone away and there was nothing visible above them except a dark, dank ceiling. Despite the ice in the immediate area, Fluttershy barely felt any sort of coldness.

"We're right here." Dusty's voice called out from somewhere just ahead of her. She took a few hurried steps forward and nearly ran right into Snappy, who was still watching the Medal-Detector-5000. Dusty was keeping an eye out for any signs of trouble.

"See any cogs nearby, Dusty?" Snappy asked the older dog, who had a hand on his police baton.

"Nope, nothing. Guess those cogs took off when they heard we were out kicking tail and taking names." Dusty joked, chuckling to himself.

The device suddenly began beeping again. They were getting closer.

"Sounds like it's just ahead, Dusty. In the main chamber." Snappy told is older brother in a matter-of-fact sort of tone. Fluttershy suddenly got the impression that the two had been here before.

In the dim light, she could see Dusty's eyes light up, as if he was suddenly excited.

"Oh boy, I love the main chamber of this place." He said happily, before turning to make eye contact with Fluttershy. "And I know you will, too."

Fluttershy quirked an eyebrow at him but didn't say a word. What could he mean by that?

"You got your energy light, Snappy?" Dusty asked his little brother, who was still watching the Medal-Detector-5000 with wary eyes. The minute Dusty addressed him, though, he pulled out what appeared to be a bright white light bulb on a foot long wooden pole.

"Right here, Dusty." He replied, holding up the light as they neared an opening in the cave.

"Hit the lights, Snappy..." Dusty told his brother, before turning to Fluttershy, a glint of excitement in his eyes. "...and prepare to be dazzled."

 _CLICK!_

A bright white light suddenly filled the entire area. Fluttershy had to shield her eyes for roughly ten seconds before she was able to see. But the sight that met her eyes when she lowered her hands left her speechless.

"Oh, my Celestia..." She muttered silently to herself.

She couldn't have described the sight she was seeing even if she tried. What appeared to be pure white crystal residue was hanging from the ceiling in long stalactites, which shined brightly in the light cast by Snappy's gadget. And what was that floating around in the giant lake in the middle of this enormous chamber? It looked like a large white crystal. More beautiful, green trees lined the room, with what appeared to be more crystals hanging off their branches and leaves. The floor was covered, oddly enough, in bright green grass. The entire room sparkled and shined from the light Snappy was holding.

In all her years, Fluttershy had never seen something as truly beautiful as this. It looked as if someone had mixed an icy cave full of crystals with the greener workings of a lush, dense forest. Who had made this beautiful place?

"Amazing, isn't it? That's all crystallized ice." Dusty said to Fluttershy, who continued to look around the place in wonderment. "Hardly anyone knows this place is here. There's hardly any other place like this in the Tooniverse."

Snappy held his light up higher and looked down at the Medal-Detector again. The device was beeping more quickly then before. They were getting closer to the Power Medal.

"We're getting closer, guys." He said happily, before hopping down from the ledge they were all standing on and landing safely in the grass below. Dusty and Fluttershy were right behind him, hopping down from the ledge and landing easily in the grass.

 _ **""Whatever you imagine**_

 _ **Can one day come to be**_

 _ **There are dreams to awaken, roads to be taken**_

 _ **Follow them and they will set you free"**_

Fluttershy raised a hand and stroked some of the ice off a tree as she walked past it, wishing deeply her friends could have been here to see this truly amazing place. She could just imagine what Twilight's reaction would be, and the thought made her smile even wider.

Dusty and Snappy were ahead of her, watching her wonderment with bright smiles on their faces. Snappy looked down at the device once again and turned in the direction the arrow was pointing.

"That way." He told the other two, leading the way past the large lake and through a couple of more trees.

 _ **"Whatever you imagine**_

 _ **Is where your heart can go**_

 _ **There are worlds filled with treasure, time without measure**_

 _ **To learn whatever you may need to know"**_

Fluttershy saw a small piece of ice on the ground next to her, picked it up, and lobbed it into the water. The piece broke apart into multiple pieces upon landing in the lake, making a brief, but brilliant light show on the waters surface. She giggled happily at the sight.

Another splash caught her attention. Dusty had tossed a piece of ice into the water as well, laughing lightly as it skipped across the surface several times.

"I know I shouldn't be enjoying myself, considering what we're here to do, but hey, you gotta have fun somehow. Am I right?" Dusty asked her, making her giggle again in response. She had to admit, she was enjoying herself, too!

 _ **"Imagine (imagine)**_

 _ **If you and I**_

 _ **Can fly past the sun**_

 _ **And leave all our doubts and fears behind us"**_

As they approached another cluster of trees, Fluttershy lost sight of Dusty and Snappy once again. She gasped and hurried ahead to find them both looking up at a large stalagmite that nearly reached the ceiling.

"Looks like this things still here, Dusty." Snappy told his brother happily, who was smiling at the giant stalagmite himself. Fluttershy came up behind them and looked up at the giant stalagmite himself. It as truly a sight to behold.

"Wow. That thing's huge." Fluttershy said in amazement. She wondered how long it had been since it was created, or how long it took for it to get that big. Just thr thought made her shudder.

 _ **"You see, that's just what can happen**_

 _ **If you look inside your mind**_

 _ **There's no limit to the wonders**_

 _ **You can find"**_

The three then turned away from the giant stalagmite to spot several large, open fields of grass in front of them. Sunlight was beaming down from an opening in the ceiling onto one of them, which had several kinds of flowers scattered about it, and it looked really warm and inviting to them.

The Medal-Detector-5000 was beeping rapidly at this point. They were nearly to the Power Medal.

"Looks like it's in one of those fields." Snappy said happily, stepping over a lone branch that had fallen down and heading for the first of the multiple fields of grass, Dusty and Fluttershy right behind him.

 _ **"Whatever you imagine**_

 _ **Can make your life brand new**_

 _ **There are miracles waiting, so keep concentrating**_

 _ **And I promise you that if you do,**_

 _ **Whatever you imagine can come true.""**_

Snappy stopped in the middle of the center field of grass, right in the middle of the beam of sunlight. The device was now pointing straight down into the ground.

"Right here, Dusty." Snappy told his older brother, patting the ground with his hand. Dusty stepped over and looked down at the patch of grass, fresh determination in his eyes.

"Stand back, you two!" He warned the pair.

Snappy and Fluttershy quickly stepped back, as Dusty pulled out a pair of small shovels and began digging for the Medal faster then a jackhammer. The pair had to dive for cover as large amounts of dirt and rocks flew over their heads.

"Is this normal for your brother?" Fluttershy asked Snappy as the pair took cover behind a nearby tree.

"Believe me. He can do a lot more then this when he wants to." Snappy replied, wiping a bit of dirt from his cap.

A full minute later, Dusty leaped out of the hole, holding a bright pink Power Medal with a dark pink heart in the middle. The Power Medal of Compassion!

Snappy and Fluttershy came out from behind the tree as Dusty discarded the now broken shovels. He held up the glowing Medal in triumph, like an olympic athlete holding up the gold medal.

"Got it!" Dusty said, earning cheers from both Snappy and Fluttershy. But understandably, Fluttershy's cheers were louder. Now they had four Power Medals! She was one step closer to getting home! It would be enough to make anyone feel overjoyed.

So why did she feel like they were being watched? And why did it feel like they were followed here, for that matter?

It seemed Snappy felt the same, because he had just put the Medal-Detector away and grabbed his cream pie cannon from his back.

"Hmm... this was easy. Almost to easy for my tastes. I can't believe we got here and got the Medal without so much as a single cog getting in the way." He told the other two.

Dusty put the Medal away and grabbed out his police baton, suddenly looking around for any sign of enemies. Fluttershy was glancing around as well, a cream pie already in her hand.

If trouble was going to strike, where would it strike from? Their enemies had a lot of options in this dimly lit cave, and though Snappy's light illuminated a large portion of it, it couldn't show them what was hiding behind the trees and stalactites in the area.

They didn't have long to wait before trouble eventually reared it's ugly head.

"Why, Dusty, you shouldn't have!" A bright, cheerful voice called out from somewhere nearby.

Dusty, Snappy and Fluttershy all began looking around vigorously, not spotting the source of the voice.

"Who said that? Where are you!?" Dusty shouted, police baton still in hand.

Fluttershy tried using her superior hearing to hone in on where that voice had come from. After a few moments, she looked up and pointed at the opening in the cave's roof.

"It came from up there!" She told the other two. Snappy quickly engaged his jetpack and flew up to the opening to take a look, Dusty and Fluttershy waiting eagerly below.

"See anything, Snappy?" Dusty called up to his little brother. A brief moment of silence followed, then...

"AAAH!"

Snappy let out a shocked scream, then came tumbling down from the ceiling, having lost control of his jetpack, and fell into the hole Dusty had just dug. The older Bumblejinks quickly hurried over to the edge of the hole and peered in, eyes wide with alarm.

"Snappy, what is it!?" He shouted, reaching a hand in to pull Snappy out. The younger Bumblejinks was clearly distraught over something.

"Whatever we do, we can't go that way!" He said urgently, pointing up to the opening in the ceiling.

"How come?" Fluttershy asked, taking a cautious step forward, pie still in hand.

A second later, she found out why. They heard something large, something heavy, moving somewhere above them. Something black and gray in color came into view on the other side of the opening, blocking out the sunlight, and a pair of dark red eyes suddenly appeared staring down at them. And judging from the rather sudden entrance, they could already tell it was trouble.

Fluttershy gasped in fright upon seeing this.

"What's that!?" She shouted, stepping back from the terrifying sight, eyes wide with terror.

"Someone you never want to marry." Dusty replied, glaring at the dark red eyes.

"Plus he's in a bad mood." Snappy chipped in, aiming his cannon up at the eyes.

A small mechanical hand then came down from the opening, heading toward them. Dusty pulled out the Power Medal of Compassion and tossed it to Snappy.

"Stay back with Fluttershy! I'll handle this!" He ordered, holding his club ready.

The hand shot toward him, but he was able to dodge it quickly. He wasted no time in retaliation, charging forward and smashing the hand with his club and brute strength as easily as if it were made of cardboard.

"Aww, yeah!" Dusty shouted. He took a step back from the destroyed hand and glanced over at Snappy and Fluttershy, who both cheered loudly.

"Nice job, Dusty!" Snappy shouted happily. Dusty couldn't help but grin.

At least, until they heard a strange sort of rustling sound coming from Snappy's back pocket. He quickly whipped around and spotted another tiny mechanical hand coming out of his back pocket.

"HEY!" The red dog shouted, rushing forward and swinging his baton at the thing. But he missed, and the hand quickly shot back up toward the ceiling, and it was holding the Power Medal of Compassion!

"The Power Medal!" Snappy shouted as Fluttershy hurried forward Dusty, worry in her eyes. They had lost the Power Medal!

Then the voice from before pipped up again.

"How typical. You three do all the busy work and I get all the glory! Not to mention the Power Medal!" It said from up above. Dusty simply growled as Snappy hurried over to him.

"Aww man, they followed us here! I should have known!" Snappy spat, as if he were appalled that Mystery and his henchmen would stoop to such a low and cowardly tactic.

The voice above cackled wickedly.

"Thanks for the Power Medal, folks! Keep up the good work!" It called down, aggravating the Bumblejinks even further. Even Fluttershy was beginning to lose her temper with this guy, for she couldn't help but suppress a growl that had been building up inside of her.

More loud movement above them, and the black and gray... whatever it was had gone. But not before a giant hammer came into view and struck the opening with the force of a wrecking ball. It reeled back, then struck again.

Dusty's eyes grew wide when he saw what was about to happen.

"OUT! Everybody, out, out, OUT!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, and together the three turned tail and hurried toward the entrance to the cave, as shards of crystallized ice, rocks, and boulders the size of school buses began raining down all around them. The cave was collapsing!

 _"Oh my goodness... now I know how Daring Do feels!"_ Fluttershy couldn't help but think to herself as she ran for her life alongside the Bumblejinks Bros., the cave caving in all around them.

Would they make it out in one piece?

* * *

Dusty Bumblejinks and all associated characters are owned and copyright by Bulldozer Studios.

Fluttershy, My Little Pony and all associated characters are owned and copyright by Hasbro.

Toontown and all associated characters, including the cogs, are owned and copyright by The Walt Disney Company.

"Whatever You Imagine" composed by Wendy Moten for the major motion picture "The Pagemaster", produced by Turner Pictures.


	11. 10 Smog Smashers Headquarters

Fluttetshy's heart was pounding a mile a minute as she, Dusty, and Snappy fled from the collapsing cave. She didn't want to admit it out loud, but she was legitimately terrified. What was going to happen to them if they didn't get out in time?

The three dashed out of the cave opening and into the snowstorm outside, just as the cave completely caved in on itself, causing a massive rockslide that blockaded the entrance.

The three turned and gazed at the now collapsed entrance to what was once a beautiful cave full of wonder. Dusty doubted the plants inside survived, and Snappy and Fluttershy couldn't believe what had just happened.

"Well... looks like we won't be going back in there again." Dusty remarked, pulling his hat off and wiping his brow with the back of his hand, before slipping the cap back on.

Snappy and Fluttershy simply looked at each other, firmly out of breath. Flutershy wiped the sweat from her brow and gave a loud breath of relief that they had made it out in one piece.

But what was that machine that had appeared in the hole opening? Who was piloting it? And why had it taken the Power Medal of Compassion?

No doubt it was another one of the Smog Smashers, out to get revenge for Milstone's defeat. Fluttershy had hoped they wouldn't see the Smog Smashers again for some time, but never anticipated that they would make such a rocky comeback... with "Rocky" being a vast understatement.

"Dusty, whoever that was, they got the Power Medal! What'll we do now!?" Snappy asked out loud, wiping the snow off his cap as the older Bumblejinks looked to the top of the large hill the cave was situated on, fresh determination in his eyes.

"We're gonna get it back, Bumblejinks style!" Dusty announced proudly, and with his billy club in hand, he quickly took off up the hill, leaping from rock to rock easily.

Snappy and Fluttershy looked to each other nervously.

"Well, at least he always knows what to do in a situation like this." The younger Bumblejinks remarked as he pulled the Medal-Detector-5000 back out and set it to home in on the Power Medal of Compassion's location.

"I really don't want to face off with another giant metal monster. The last one was so scary." Fluttershy replied, a hint of fear in her tone.

Snappy sensed her distress and gently wrapped an arm around her for support as he put away the Detector and reached for the controls of his jetpack.

"Well, like it or not, we gotta get that Power Medal back. Better hang on tight!" He instructed her.

She nodded in reply and grabbed onto him tight, letting out a gulp as though resigned to the worst.

Snappy engaged the jetpack and sped off in Dusty's direction, catching up to the crimson canine in no time. The three hurried off to catch up to the giant robot, hoping they could recover the Medal, and dreading they couldn't.

* * *

Twilight Sparkle paced the castle's map room urgently, a look of utmost distress on her face. It had been well over a day since Fluttershy's disappearance, and by now, Princess Celestia and all of Equestria had learned of what had happened. The news had already spread like wildfire.

Of course, Princess Celestia had ordered the royal guard to go out into the kingdom and search for Fluttershy, which was backed by the majority of the kingdom's population. But after almost thirty-six hours of combing every square inch of Equestria nonstop, nothing was found.

Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rainbow Dash weren't there. While finding Fluttershy was their top priority, they still had their daily lives to attend too, and no amount of complaining, arguing, or ( in Rainbow Dash's case ) shouting and screaming was going to change that.

"What could have happened to her? First a giant portal opens in the middle of her room, then she gets sucked in, then... nothing. She's just gone." Twilight recounted to herself, for about the hundredth time that day.

"Aww, come on, Twilight. This isn't the first time our friends have disappeared on us. She'll turn up." Spike reassured her, taking note of the considerable hole in the floor she had made from her pacing and just knowing he would have to fix it.

Twilight turned and gave him a miserable look.

"She's never been gone this long without a trace. Everypony is worried sick about what could have possibly happened to her." The purple alicorn responded, giving a terrible, miserable sigh and hanging her head low as she turned and continued pacing.

However, she looked back over when she heard Spike give a painful yelp. Something big and heavy had hit him on the head, and it was now lying on the floor next to him.

"Ouch... what was that!? That thing nearly cracked my head open!" He complained, pointing down to the wrapped package that had struck him on the noggin. It had a white letter attached to it.

"Huh... it doesn't look like it's from Princess Celestia... or anypony we know, for that matter..." Twilight puzzled, lifting up the package with her magic and setting it down in one of the chairs surrounding the map.

Spike came over for a closer look, now rubbing a large bump that had formed on his head when he had gotten hit.

Twilight detached the letter from the package and opened it, which was fortunate, because it said, in writing she had never seen before:

 _"Dear Twilight S., if your reading this letter, then my efforts to send this across space has been successful._

 _I'm sending you this letter to notify you of your friend Fluttershy."_

Twilight gasped loudly when she read this part.

"It's about Fluttershy! She's alright!" Twilight exclaimed loudly, getting Spike's full attention, who stepped up to read the letter himself as Twilight continued.

 _"The details are very long and drawn out, and to fully explain them would take a very long time. So I'll cut straight to the chase and make this short._

 _Your friend was teleported to my world due to a portal in space itself, developed by the devious Mystery, a villain of my world who seeks world domination. He meant to use it to bring a monster into this world to wipe out the population, but the portal took your friend instead._

 _Don't worry, your friend is safe for the time being. She has met with this worlds most famous superhero, who wrote the handbook in this package I'm sending you. Even now, they're working hard to get her home to you._

 _I only ask that you tell your kind to remain calm and patient while we work to bring your dear Fluttershy home._

 _Stay safe, and keep smiling._

 _~Melody Dandyberry."_

And next to that name, stamped onto the paper, was a picture of a bright blue medal with a dark blue snowflake design on a golden string.

Twilight stood there in stunned silence. Fluttershy was alright! She could have danced for joy at the news!

But she was also lost in a distant world none of them had ever heard of before, and as far as anypony knew, it would probably be impossible to travel to this world and locate her. This made her want to go roll up into a ball on her bed and cry.

Twilight shuddered for a moment when she thought of how this letter got here. Whoever this Melody was, she sounded like she had mastered the art of spacetime travel. She must have been VERY powerful to achieve such a feat.

And now her attention turned to the package. Indeed, it looked like there was a book in there. She wasted no time in opening it and looking at the cover in confusion.

The cover art depicted a bright, colorful and cartoony town being assaulted by flying creatures in business suits. They looked very similar to the "Humans" she had encountered when she went to Canterlot High to recover her stolen crown from Sunset Shimmer, except much darker and more ominous looking.

She took a peek at the title.

 _"TOONTOWN SURVIVAL GUIDE"_  
"By legendary superhero Dusty Bumblejinks"

Now she was REALLY confused. Toontown? Dusty Bumblejinks? What did that all mean?

Turning the book over, she read the back cover.

"Neither deadly Cogs, nor crazy, out-of-control minigames shall stand in your way with this comprehensive guide to Toontown, from the towns greatest hero himself!"

The back cover detailed many different topics that the book contained, including a history on how Toontown came to be, the best tactics for one to train their gags with, as well as details on the various cogs and how to deal with them, amongst other things. None of it made any sense to her.

She was still very confused about all of this, but considering she now knew that Fluttershy was still alive and trying to get back to them, she hardly cared.

"That's a pretty weird book." Spike commented. He had been gazing at it, too.

She turned to him and nodded her head.

"I know. We should go get the others, then go see Princess Celestia. She'll want to hear about this." Twilight said to the little dragon as she lifted him up onto her back and hurried out of the room with the book and letter in tow.

The others simply had to hear about this!

* * *

Dusty held up a hand to halt the others. They had spent a good half an hour following the giant footprints of the mechanical monstrosity that had stolen the Power Medal. The trail led the three through a dense winter forest, which made it even easier to follow the machine, thanks to all the downed trees, many of which looked like they'd been snapped in half.

"I'll say one thing for this guy. He's easy to follow." Snappy remarked as the group made it to the other side of the forest and looked out at the surroundings.

It looked much the same as everything else in this arctic place, except there was a giant frozen lake in front of them. There appeared to be a snow-free clearing on a cliff overlooking the lake on the opposite side of where the group was.

And on this clearing looked to be a large camp, or compound, with several dozen cogs sipping mugs of hot oil and deep in conversation about this and that. The giant robot from before wasn't visible, which worried Fluttershy. Crates of food and drink, which were clearly marked with large pictures of pizza and soda on the sides, indicated a Toon was amongst their ranks.

Dusty pulled out his telescope and took a closer look at the camp.

"Hmm... a large amount of cogs... and enough oil to keep them running for weeks. And there's enough food and water stored there to keep a small group of Toons fed for the same length of time. And I can see Mystery's flag blowing in the wind there. I can also see the Smog Smashers emblem on that large building over there." He reported to the others, snapping the telescope closed and glancing at the other two.

Snappy and Fluttershy waited with baited breath for what he would say next.

"Either these cogs are looking to get in touch with their more natural side, or I say we've just found the Smog Smashers base camp, or hideout."

Snappy looked over at the camp with wide eyes. The Smog Smashers base of operations?

He could hardly believe that the Smog Smashers would be operating all the way out here, miles from Toontown and in the middle of a frozen forest. But then again, it made the perfect place to hide their headquarters. Who would ever think of coming out here, braving the bitter cold, just to find them?

Speaking of the bitter cold, the chilly weather was beginning to get to Fluttershy, because Snappy could clearly see that she was shivering. She had her arms wrapped around herself, although it did little to warm her up.

"Fluttershy, are you alright? Your shivering pretty harshly." Snappy asked her, stepping closer to her as Dusty looked over.

"I-it's so weird... i-i-it was s-so warm back a-at t-t-the cave..." She had struggled to get the words out as she stood there in the cold. She didn't know how long she could endure this snowstorm, but she did know that if she stayed out here too long, she would freeze to death.

Dusty seemed to sense her distress, and gave her a concerned expression. No doubt she was very cold at that moment, standing in the half foot deep snow in only a light summer dress during a snowstorm...

"It's because Mystery, or whoever was piloting that robot, destroyed the cave back there. It had special properties that kept anyone in this forest from getting cold, despite the weather. Now that it's gone, the risk of hypothermia is very real." The crimson dog said, stepping over to her and putting a hand on her shoulder, leading her over to a fallen tree trunk, which he quickly cleared of snow by lifting it up with one hand and shaking it down.

As soon as he set it back down, he helped her to climb aboard it and reached into his back pocket, digging for something.

"I told Melody this might happen, so she gave me this to help you out." He said as he pulled out a small silver bracelet. It had a light blue snowflake design on it.

Snappy came over to see what was up as Dusty slipped it onto Fluttershy's wrist.

"It helps protect you from the cold. It won't be able to protect you from the freezing cold water, though, so stay clear of that lake." He warned as he stepped back.

Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief. The bracelet was already helping immensely. She didn't feel remotely cold anymore, and her shivering had ceased.

"Melody truly can do anything, can't she?" Snappy commented, glad they could continue on their task without the fear of Fluttershy turning into a popsicle.

Dusty chuckled at his younger brother.

"Probably, as long as she's got enough Power Medals." He replied happily, before pulling out his telescope again and turning his gaze back to the camp. It looked like the cogs were all changing up their guard shifts.

His eyes lit up and he turned to look at the others.

"They're changing shifts. Now's our chance to slip in and look for the Power Medal." Dusty reported. This extracted a curious look from Snappy.

"We're not going to just blow our way in there and take the Medal?" The younger dog asked.

Dusty simply shook his head.

"We better not risk it. I don't feel like raising the alarms just to snatch the Power Medal. We should sneak pask them. And besides, Fluttershy isn't exactly qualified to take on an entire encampment of cogs," Dusty looked over at her apologetically. "we're better off sneaking past them."

Fluttershy hadn't been offended in the slightest. She knew perfectly well that she was very inexperienced as a cog fighter compared to the Bumblejinks, so she was grateful that they were going to attempt to use stealth to get past the cogs rather then running in with gags in the air.

Of course, both ideas terrified her to no end.

* * *

Princess Celestia's brain was overclocking itself as she attempted to take in all of this information at once.

Fluttershy was alive, which was good news, and she was actively trying to get back home to them, which was also good news.

But she was lost in a faraway world none of them could access, which was bad news. It troubled Celestia to no end that one of the Element of Harmony bearers was now absent, and the risk was very real that they could never see her again.

The white alicorn glanced down at Twilight Sparkle and her remaining four friends. They had been reading the Toontown Survival Guide with her, and judging from the looks on their faces, they all had different feelings towards this disaster.

Twilight just looked worried sick, though slightly interested in the handbook.

Pinkie Pie's mane had deflated, indicating that she was heartbroken over this tragedy.

Rainbow Dash looked as though she had been tasked with doing advanced algebra by herself, and had no idea where to start.

Rarity looked like she was on the verge of fainting.

And Applejack just looked deeply concerned.

Princess Celestia gave the five a sigh as she lowered the book.

"Well, at the very least, we know that Fluttershy is alive. And we know that she's fighting hard to get home to us." The sun princess stated, before letting out a heavy breath.

"However, she is in a world that none of us have ever heard of, and we do not have the ability to gain access to this world. This concerns me deeply, as without Fluttershy, the Elements of Harmony are essentially useless." This remark earned worried expressions from the remaining five element bearers.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Twilight asked the older alicorn, receiving a disappointing shake of the head in return.

"I'm afraid not. None of us have the slightest idea of where this 'Tooniverse' is, nor how to get there to find Fluttershy. And only a fool of the first degree would attempt to gain entry to that world without proper research into the manner. And that alone could take months to perfect." She replied, earning expressions from the other five ponies that hurt her to look at.

"Oh, poor Fluttershy... what if we never see her again..." Rarity despaired, wiping a tear from her eye as well. Rainbow Dash simply turned away from them and lowered her head, unable to hold back her tears any longer.

"We must remain faithful in Fluttershy's abilities. Though she doesn't show it very often in public, she's grown much since she first met you all, both in her mind and in her skills, and she's undoubtedly able to take care of herself when a crisis has occured. As long as she is courageous, and she can stay out of trouble, she will be alright." Celestia remarked, earning even worse expressions from the others.

"That's what I'm worried 'bout the most." Applejack said to Twilight, a hint of hopelessness in her voice. "Fluttershy ain't known for her courage. 'Specislly when monsters are involved."

* * *

Fluttershy's heart was once again racing a mile a minute. She, Dusty and Snappy were all attempting to sneak their way through the cog encampment without being seen.

They had been successful so far, utilizing the many crates and oil barrels in the area to avoid detection. But it hadn't been a smooth run. There was one instance where Snappy stubbed his toe on a stack of crates with a cog was standing right on the other side of it. Luckily, the cog had coughed loudly at the exact same time Snappy swore, and Fluttershy quickly covered his mouth with her hand to silence him until the cog stepped away. After firm nods to each other, they continued onward.

Dusty was waiting for them behind a tall scaffolding. He peaked out from where he was hiding and saw that the cogs were changing shifts again. Now was their best bet to get inside the main building without the cogs noticing.

"Okay, on my signal. Move low and fast, but quietly." Dusty silently instructed the others. He then moved into position to make a run for the building.

Another moments wait, and the coast was clear.

"Go!" He quietly called. He hurried toward the door to the main building, Snappy and Fluttershy right behind him. The trio made it inside just as the oblivious security cogs were coming out of a nearby security kiosk. Luckily, the Toons hadn't been spotted.

"Alright, we're in. Now we just have to find that Power Medal..." Dusty said to the others as they turned to look around the room they were now in.

And they all felt their hearts skip a beat.

"Dusty and Snappy Bumblejinks. We meet again..."

The one voice they never wanted to hear.

The one brown cat they never wanted to see.

The usual small army of cogs he always had with him, that they also never wanted to see.

It was Mystery!

And at that time, he was looking over the three with a sinister sneer on his face, which grew even more nasty when his eyes landed on Fluttershy, who looked positively frozen in fright, her eyes wide and ears flattened against her head.

"Well, well, well... it appears we have the little pony girl in our midst." Mystery remarked, earning snide, evil sneers from the cogs behind him.

Dusty turned to look out the window and saw that cogs had surrounded the door from the outside.

It was a trap! Mystery was waiting here for them the whole tine! And he had them completely surrounded!

This didn't stop Dusty and Snappy from assuming their battle stances, though, with weapons drawn. The cogs all tensed up, ready to spring into action.

Fluttershy, meanwhile, had her gaze on Mystery the whole time. One thing that instantly set him aside from other Toons was the big, robotic eye that was in place of his right eye. He had on a highly questionable costume consisting of a white long-sleeve shirt beneath a large black, buttoned-up vest with a red bowtie on. He had dark black boots with long red and white stripped socks going all the way up to his black jeans, and a large red cape behind him.

She wasn't going to lie. He looked legitimately menacing. And at that moment, something about his gaze was making her want to run away screaming as fast as she could.

"W-what do you w-w-want with m-me?" She stammered out, earning an even darker sneer from Mystery.

"Oh, it's quite simple, my dear. Just, uh... those lovely little Power Medals you've been collecting." The brown cat said, pulling the Power Medal of Compassion out of his back pocket and holding it up to prove his point.

Dusty figured as much. But luckily for the trio, he and Snappy had gotten out of jams worse them this before.

After giving a quick half nod to Snappy, Dusty reached into his gag pouch and extracted a foghorn, similar to the ones the pair had used previously during the raid on their estate, and hid it behind his back. Snappy grabbed one out himself and held it behind him, out of sight of Mystery and the cog armada.

"No can do, Mystery! You snooze, you lose!" Dusty taunted, causing all the cogs sneers to turn into dark scowls. Mystery simply sighed and crossed his arms.

"My, my... as usual, you are making a serious mistake, Bumblejinks. You really have no say on the matter when it comes to my new world order." The brown cat replied, before returning his sight to Fluttershy.

"And, ah yes, I would like for your little pink friend to come join me at Bossbot Headquarters. I have SOOOO many questions about her home world that only she can answer." Mystery said, causing Fluttershy to take another step backwards and hide slightly behind Snappy.

Dusty gave Mystery a frustrated look.

"More like you just want to trick her into the Executive Officer Tower so you can torture her about her homeworld, then do who knows what with her when your finished with her." Dusty said, pointing a finger directly at Mystery.

"Sorry, Mystery, but the girls leaving here with us." Snappy boldly declared, his cream pie cannon already drawn and ready, his other hand still on the megaphone.

Mystery simply gave the two a tragic sigh.

"Very well. I'll just take her, then!" The brown cat shouted, before pointing a finger at the three, which was the cogs cue to rush in and attack.

As soon as the cog armada moved, Dusty and Snappy brought out their foghorns and pulled the triggers.

The cogs all came to a screeching halt as the loud noise blared, causing many to fall to the ground and explode. Mystery himself let out a loud shout and covered both his ears as his cog armada fell to the sound gags.

"Blast you, Bumblejinks! I'll have to teach you some manners!" The brown cat shouted when the sound gags ceased their loud, obnoxious noise, before turning and bolting towards an automatic door in the back of the room.

"Quick, after him! He's got the Medal!" Dusty instructed, and the three Toons rushed forward, over the fallen cogs, and towards the door. Dusty caught the door just as it was about to close and jammed it open for the other two. Then they proceeded forward.

Mystery was already out of sight by the time the three reached the next door and forced it open, which took them back outside. This part of the compound was mostly empty, with no cogs in sight. Just a few crates stacked up against the wall.

"Where did he go?" Snappy asked, glancing around and raising a hand to his jetpack controls, ready to fly up and try to spot Mystery from above.

"Good question." Dusty replied, letting out a breath and twirling his baton in his hand, looking around for any sign of the brown cat. No footprints in the snow, nothing.

Fluttershy, in spite of the blizzard raging around them and the sound of the alarm sirens that were now blaring to alert everyone of the three's presence, could faintly smell and hear something that caught her attention. She forced her senses to narrow in on the source of the noise and scent.

It smelt just like big business. The same kind as she smelt before her encounter with Milstone's submarine. And that sound... was that ice breaking?

The thought of what it could have been terrified her, but she knew she had to find out what was going on.

"I think I hear something, over in the lake." She told the others, before turning and running off in the direction of the frozen lake they had previously seen. Dusty and Snappy looked at each other, then followed her.

The smell and noise was getting louder now, and it seemed Dusty and Snappy could now sense it as well.

"Sounds like she's on the right track, Dusty." Snappy commented as the Bumblejinks Bros. followed after Fluttershy into a small stretch of trees, keeping their eyes wide open for any more cogs in the area.

Dusty's guess was that they had destroyed the bulk of the cogs in this area, sending the rest scrambling for safety... or to call reinforcements.

Whatever the reason, when the three finally stopped, they were gazing out at the frozen lake... which now didn't look so frozen. A large hole was smashed in the middle of it, and it was bubbling ominously.

As though something were coming up to the surface!

Dusty and Snappy immediately got into their battle stances, stepping in front of Fluttershy to shield her behind them.

"We'll handle this... whatever it is." Dusty said to her as the Bros. approached the cliffside overlooking the lake. From here, it was impossible to get any closer without risking falling into the freezing cold water, so they instead opted to turn to the right and walk down the side of the cliff to a lower stretch of land.

Fluttershy hid in the trees nearby and watched the pair go.

And that's when it happened.

An enormous gush of water blanketed the ground in front of the Bros. as the object below the water broke the surface. Fluttershy recognized it right away and had to silence a scream quickly.

It was the giant robot that had stolen the Power Medal of Compassion from them!

Dusty and Snappy looked up at the metal behemoth as it stood fully upright. Even though it was half submerged, it still looked as tall as a seven story building. It was by far Mystery's biggest machine to date!

It closely resembled a Big Cheese, minus the fact that it had two extra arms. One had a large hammer upon it, the other a giant drill. That explained why the cave from before had collapsed.

It was a whole minute of stunned silence before the tension that came in the wake of this robots appearance was finally broken, when a familiar voice called out over a loudspeaker to the Bros..

And it wasn't Mystery who was talking.

"Hahaha! You three are more dense then I thought! Who would even think of following the great Smog Smashers straight to their home, if they didn't have some sort of death wish!?"

It was the same fool who had snatched the Power Medal of Compassion. There was no doubt about it.

Snappy felt anger overcoming him as he aimed his gag cannon straight at the giant robot.

"We never have been the type to run away!" Snappy called out, earning a slight glance from Dusty.

"Well, you will soon learn your place, dog! Your up against the one and only Nigel Nighthawk, and I always destroy what I pounce at!" The pilot of the robot called out to the pair.

Dusty and Snappy glanced at each other, then back up at the bot.

"Hate to burst your bubble, pal, but we can't let you run around in a giant robot causing all sorts of havoc!" Dusty shouted, getting Nigel's attention. The robot shifted once, as though an engine were turning over, which caused the Bros. to tense up.

"Correction: A Power Medal fueled giant robot. And I really have to thank you two for finding that Medal. This bot was on it's last legs of reserve power, and I was just ITCHING to try it out at maximum strength!" Nigel called out, as the robot reached down, ripped a giant tree out of the ground with enough force to shake Dusty, Snappy and Fluttershy about, and threw it at the Bros..

The pair just barely managed to get out of the way in time as the tree crashed down into a row of trees behind them. They looked back over at the bot as they stood back up.

"This is gonna be a tough one, Dusty..." Snappy said to his older brother as he once again aimed his gag cannon at the robot.

The older Bumblejinks seemed to have acknowledged this, for he was now in a more aggressive posture from before.

"Keep it busy for a minute. I'll take him down directly." The red dog ordered, and Snappy didn't need a repeat to get the picture.

The younger dog quickly engaged his jetpack as he flew off the ground and into the snow-filled air. The robot quickly turned to him and began firing gears at him. Luckily, he was able to dodge them.

Dusty, meanwhile, ran over to behind the mech and began looking for a way to get to it. He couldn't swim across; He would almost certainly freeze to death. And the surface of the robot looked to be covered in ice, which would make it impossible to climb up, if he were to attempt to jump over.

 _'There's gotta be something... some kind of weakness, anywhere...'_ He thought to himself, watching his younger brother fly about and avoid the robots gears.

One gear hit the ground near Fluttershy, causing her to let out a startled yelp and hop back from it.

"Argh, you stupid dog! Hold still!" Nigel shouted, as he raised one of the robots arms to take a swipe at Snappy.

Snappy noiced this and quickly dove to his right to dodge the attack, causing the robot to overshoot him and drive the hand directly into the ground.

"What the- it's stuck!?" Nigel said over his loudspeaker, trying, and failing, to extract the robots hand from the ground. From the look of it, the blow had shattered the ice on the arm.

That's all Dusty needed.

Acting quick, Dusty darted over, jumped up onto the arm, and quickly dashed up it towards the robots head. Although not without getting spotted by Nigel.

The operator of the robot let out a shout of frustration when he saw the dog on his robots arm, and had the gear turrets turn and aim at him.

Dusty was much to quick for them, though, and easily avoided them. He eventually landed on top of one and leaped off it, lunging directly at the robots head.

"Take this!" Dusty shouted.

A second later, the robot lurched backwards violently as it was struck with enough force to knock down a seven story building. Dusty had swung with his baton with all his might, delivering a powerful blow that caused his arm to shake a little.

Fluttershy couldn't help but gaze in wonder at this dogs raw, unrivaled strength, and cheer him on all the same.

Dusty flew back following the attack, and was saved from landing in the water by Snappy, who had quickly dove to catch his brother.

"Ack! You two meddling canines!" Nigel screamed over the loudspeaker, now beginning to lose his patience with the pair. That blow had nearly knocked the Power Medal out of his control console, and he knew that if he lost his power supply while running at maximum power, the robot would most likely explode and sink into the lake.

Dusty and Snappy continued their assault on the robot, with Dusty managing to land another solid blow on the machine. Gears flew in every possible direction, but luckily, there were no pesky cogs to interfere this time, so they could focus exclusively on the robot.

Fluttershy, who was hiding behind a tree now, cheered loudly as Dusty landed another blow at the robots head. They were going to win!

But on their fourth attack, the Bros. weren't so lucky...

"ARGH!" Dusty shouted as he was suddenly grabbed by one of the robots hands. And try as he might, he couldn't free himself.

Fluttershy quickly covered her mouth to keep herself from screaming as she watched in horror. What was going to happen to Dusty?

Snappy looked nervously at his brother. What could he do to help him? He was nowhere near strong enough to pry his brother loose.

"I-I've gotten out o-of t-t-tighter jams t-then t-this..." Dusty said as the robot began to apply more pressure. Dusty continued his struggle to free himself all the same.

"Hahaha! Nothing like a good, wholesome game of SQUASH!" Nigel called out gleefully, his attention completely fixed on Dusty.

He didn't notice Snappy flying over to Fluttershy, who was waving him over from on the ground.

"We have to do something, Snappy! Your brothers going to die!" She said fearfully, letting out another horrified gasp as Dusty shouted in pain again. He couldn't take much more of this abuse.

Snappy quickly considered their options, and then it dawned on him. He snapped his fingers and looked over at Fluttershy.

"I think I got an idea, but it's gonna take both of us to do it. Can you help me out?" He asked her, determination in his eyes.

She was as unsure about this as legally possible by pony standards. Get up close and personal with that metal monstrosity!? That sounded like a good way for her to get herself killed!

But then again, what other options did they have? If they didn't act now, Dusty would be doomed for sure. And, by extension, her as well.

She let out a breath and looked over at Snappy.

"Alright. Let's do this." She told him. He quickly lifted her up and the pair flew up and towards the head of the machine. Once again, Nigel's attention was on Dusty, so he didn't notice them.

Snappy landed on the back of the robots head, set Fluttershy down next to him, and pulled out a bundle of TNT from his gag pouch. He quickly lit the fuse and threw it at a vulnerable looking spot in the back of the robots head.

He and Fluttershy stood back, fingers crossed, and waited a moment.

KA-BOOM!

The TNT had done the trick, blowing open a hole big enough for the two to enter the robot from behind.

Carefully as they could, they hurried forward.

And it was nowhere else but the main control room that they walked into.

"How did you know the control room was on the top?" Fluttershy asked as the two entered, extracting a chuckle from Snappy.

"When you've been fighting Mystery as long as we have, you tend to learn a few things about his machines." The blue dog said.

Nigel, who the two could now see was the cat in the Smog Smashers ranks, had turned around in his seat to see what the commotion was about, and looked absolutely startled to see Snappy and Fluttershy standing there.

"What the-!?" He asked in shock, shortly before Snappy rushed up to him and and delivered a blow straight to his head with his hammer, knocking the cat out.

Fluttershy, meanwhile, ran over and extracted the Power Medal from the control console, causing the giant robot to shut down almost immediately.

"Yes! We've got it back!" She cheered happily. They were back to four Power Medals! And they had bested another one of Mystery's henchmen! She wanted to jump for joy right then and there!

Snappy wouldn't lie; He felt like celebrating himself.

Their happy mood was quickly shattered by a sudden lurch in the machine. It felt like the bot was breaking apart! And it wasn't because Dusty was hitting it again!

Snappy heard an explosion and the robot rocked around again. He immediately knew what was happening.

"We better book it before this oversized can opener sinks into the lake!" Snappy warned, as he once again picked up Fluttershy in one arm, grabbing the unconscious Nigel with his other hand, and turning to the hole in the back of the robots head.

He rushed forward with his passengers and through the hole, then he took off flying, just as the exploding robot began to sink into the lake.

Dusty was down on the ground waiting for the pair. He was thoroughly winded, but otherwise relatively unharmed, much to Snappy and Fluttershy's relief.

"Not gonna lie, you guys saved my tail back there. I sure am lucky to have such great teammates out here in the field." Dusty remarked, giving the pair a thumbs up.

Snappy and Fluttershy both smiled happily, though the girl had a small blush in her face, at Dusty's compliment. They couldn't deny it, they both felt great for helping Dusty get out of a jam.

The three turned to watch as the giant monster robot exploded and sank into the deep lake.

They stood there for a solid minute or so watching the robot, although Fluttershy's attention was on the Power Medal of Compassion she now held in her hand.

She could see why it was called that. She had felt the power of Friendship many times in the past, especially through the use of the Elements of Harmony, and she could feel much of the same power coming from this Power Medal. It made her feel happy and confident in herself, and she loved it.

"We're over halfway there now. Just three Medals to go." Dusty said to her. He had been watching her gaze at the Power Medal, and she couldn't help but look up at him and smile.

"Yep. But we need to be more careful from here on out. Mystery isn't going to take this news very well." Snappy chimed in, knowing for sure Mystery was going to be furious over having lost another Power Medal to the Bumblejinks Bros.. He shuddered at the thought of what he would do to the few cogs who had managed to escape the compound before.

"Well, if he shows up again, we'll be able to deal with him. He can't stop the almighty power of teamwork." Dusty told the others, giving them an encouraging grin and wink.

And with that, the three started out for Toontown. They were colder then the north pole, battered, beaten, and now that they had the stolen Power Medal back, they had to get back to Melody and report their success.

They also had to drop off Nigel Nighthawk at the police station, and report the location of the Smog Smashers headquarters.

And with any luck, the Toon Resistance would be able to get some much needed answers. That would make everyone happier.

* * *

Dusty Bumblejinks and all associated characters are owned and copyright by Bulldozer Studios.

Fluttershy, My Little Pony and all associated characters are owned and copyright by Hasbro.

Toontown and all associated characters, including the cogs, are owned and copyright by The Walt Disney Company.


End file.
